Implicit and Explicit Self-Esteem as Concurrent Predictors of Suicidal Ideation, Depressive Symptoms, and Loneliness

• NCJ Number: 236958
• Journal: Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry Volume: 43 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2012 Pages: 638-646
• Author(s): Daan H.M. Creemers; Ron H.J. Scholte; Rutger C.M.E Engels; Mitchell J. Prinstein; Reinout W. Wiers
• Date Published: March 2012
• Length: 9 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study examined whether "explicit self-esteem" (an individual's conscious feeling of self-worth and acceptance) and "implicit self-esteem" (relatively automatic, conditioned, and non-conscious evaluation of the self that guides spontaneous reactions to self-relevant stimuli), the interaction between these two constructs, and their discrepancy are associated with depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness.

Abstract

Results demonstrated that explicit self-esteem has an inverse relationship with depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness. Implicit self-esteem did not relate to these three internalizing symptoms. The interaction between implicit and explicit self-esteem was associated with suicidal ideation but not with depressive symptoms and loneliness. In addition, the size of the discrepancy between implicit and explicit self-esteem was positively associated with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Further, results show that the direction of the discrepancy is an important vulnerability marker for these various internalizing symptoms. The findings indicate that damaged self-esteem (high implicit self-esteem combined with low explicit self-esteem) is consistently associated with increased levels of all of these internalizing symptoms. These findings provide further support for the concept that implicit self-esteem is an important construct of self-esteem; therefore, conceptual models that include only explicit self-esteem and neglect the effects of implicit self-esteem should be re-evaluated. Study participants were 95 young adult females enrolled in college. The Name Letter Task was administered to measure implicit self-esteem, and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale was used to assess explicit self-esteem. The Name Letter Task is based on the assumption that the initials of an individual's name are closely associated with the self and that the relative liking of one's own initials in comparison with the liking of the other letters of the alphabet reflects a person's implicit self-attitudes. Information is provided on the instruments that measured depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness. 4 tables, 4 figures, and 78 references