Self-Sentiments and Depressive Symptoms: A Longitudinal Analysis

• Published in: The American behavioral scientist (Beverly Hills) Vol. 67; no. 1; pp. 36 - 59
• Main Authors: Boyle, Kaitlin M., Rogers, Kimberly B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-01-2023; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Anxiety; College students; Control theory; Epidemiology; Evaluation; Graduate students; Graduate studies; Health status; Liveliness; Longitudinal studies; Mental depression; Mental health; Morality; Psychological theories; Respondents; Symptoms; Undergraduate students; affect control theory of self; depression; self-sentiments; mental health
• ISSN: 0002-7642; 1552-3381
• DOI: 10.1177/00027642211066031

Social psychological theories provide useful tools for identifying interpretive processes that affect individual mental health outcomes. In this paper, we use the affect control theory of self (ACT-Self) to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and global feelings about the self—self-sentiments—that are evoked by the constellation of identities, traits, moods, characteristics, and roles we hold and have held. We examine this relationship in two separate longitudinal studies conducted with undergraduates (N = 147) and doctoral students (N = 178) at a university in the Southeastern U.S., which employ different measures of depressive symptoms (the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale Short Form, respectively). We present key findings about links between depressive symptoms and evaluation (goodness), potency (powerfulness), and activity (liveliness). First, evaluation negatively predicts depressive symptoms at follow-up in both samples; activity predicts symptoms among undergraduates, and potency predicts symptoms among doctoral students. Second, respondents in both samples with self-sentiments closer to cultural sentiments for “depressed” report more depressive symptoms at follow-up. Third, evaluation gains over time predict less Wave 2 depressive symptoms in both samples; potency gains also predict symptoms among doctoral students. Finally, Wave 1 depressive symptoms—and increases in depression over time—predict lower levels of evaluation and potency in both samples.