Mediating Effect of Self-Esteem on Stress-Induced Depression of Korean Nursing Students
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Abstract
College students are in the process of preparing for adulthood, and they are in an important period of establishing values and identity through college life and deciding their own career path. However, many college students in Korea are experiencing psychological burden and stress due to their adaptation to psychological and social changes and anxiety about the future. This study focuses on the importance of Korean nursing students self-esteem, which is emotional and behavioral direction, in the process of adapting to a successful college life. Accordingly, the effect of self-esteem on stress-induced depression was carried out to investigate among Korean nursing students.
This study is a causal study using the mediator effect of self-esteem on stress-induced depression. The study was conducted with 179 nursing students who agreed to participate in the questionnaire. The survey was carried out with systematic questionnaire on stress, self-esteem, and depression. In order to prove the mediating effect of self-esteem on stress-induced depression of nursing college students, a three-step mediated effect verification procedure using Baron & Kenny's multiple regression analysis method from the SPSS/PASW 23.0 program and a statistical significance test for mediating effects were used, and the Sobel test was performed.
As a result of empirical analysis, self-esteem had a statistically significant mediating effect on stress-induced depression in Korean nursing students. As variables, self-esteem (? =-.333, p =.000) and stress (? = .582, p =.000) affected subjective depression. The normalized beta value (? = .582) in the last regression was less than that in step 2 (? = .798). Through the Sobel test, the Korean nursing students self-esteem as the parameter had a statistically significant mediating effect on the influence of their stress as the independent variable on their depression as the dependent variable (z = 5.409, p =.000).
Among nursing college students, self-esteem plays a role in mediating the link between stress and depression. Therefore, a nursing intervention strategy should be developed to improve self-esteem for nursing college students.