SELF-ESTEEM & DEPRESSION
The relationship between self-esteem and depressive symptoms, and the differences within
this relationship between a sports group and a non-sports group
Research in Psychopathology (RESIT)
GGZ2028
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences
Bachelor Gezondheidswetenschappen
Maastricht University
Jessie Janssen, I6199078
Key words: Self-esteem, depression, students, depressive symptoms, sports
Word count: 3637
Date: 21-06-2020
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,Abstract
Depression is the most common occurring disorder among adolescents, and is
found to be connected to self-esteem. Self-esteem is considered to be biased negatively in
people suffering from depression. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether
there is a relationship between self-esteem and depressive symptoms among Dutch Maastricht
University students. Moreover, the current study will focus on the differences in this
relationship between self-esteem and depressive symptoms among a sports group and non-
sports group within this research population. The first hypothesis states that there is a negative
correlation between self-esteem and depression. The second hypothesis states that there is a
smaller negative correlation in the sports group, than there is in the non-sports group. The
third hypothesis states that more depressive symptoms and a lower self-esteem occur in the
non-sports group, in comparison with the sports group. Results found using a Pearson
correlation showed a significant negative correlation between self-esteem and depressive
symptoms. This relationship was found to be slightly more negative in the non-sports group,
compared to the sports group. No difference was found with regard to depressive symptoms
and self-esteem separately within the sports- and non-sports groups. Due to limitations, future
research is recommended.
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, 1 Introduction
15.5% of all adolescents in the Netherlands has dealt with a depression in their
lifetime, which makes it the most common occurring disorder among adolescents between 18
and 24 years old (Schoenmaker et al., 2019). Depression has a very broad spectrum which
ranges from mild symptoms as a part of life, to the deepest forms of depression such as
melancholia. Even though the mild symptoms of depression can help us with forming our
personality from time to time, depression is still a psychiatric illness which needs to be
identified and treated in order to decrease suffering (Wasserman, 2011). Although depression
is very common among adolescents, it goes unrecognized very frequently. Symptoms which
come with the depression, such as worthlessness or a sense of guilt, make it more likely for
the depressive adolescents to hide the depression because they do not want to be a burden
towards other people. Because of the lowered reveal of symptoms, the symptoms seem milder
and therefore are often mistaken for changes in behavior or mood swings, which are common
and also very normal for the developmental stages which adolescents go through (Hazen,
Goldstein, Goldstein & Jellinek, 2011).
Defined in the book of Lawrence (2006), “Self-esteem is the individual’s evaluation of
the discrepancy between self-image and ideal self”, in which self-image is the awareness of
your own mental and physical characteristics, and ideal self is defined as learning that there
are ideal standards of skills and behavior which are valued in life. Self-esteem can either be
explicit or implicit. While explicit self-esteem is defined as a conscious reflective self-
evaluation, implicit self-esteem can be seen as an unconscious automatic self-evaluation
which guides behavior (Van Loghum, 2013). A difference between global self-esteem and
specific self-esteem can also be distinguished. Global self-esteem is the positive or negative
attitude which an individual has toward the self as a whole and is more relevant to
psychological well-being, while specific self-esteem is more judgmental and evaluative, and
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