Are Depressive Symptoms Linked to Self-esteem? A Study on University Students

Everyday experiences suggest that individual who often feel dejected from daily life and often feel sad and lonely tend to have low self-esteem. The purpose of this study is to investigate the link between depressive symptoms and self-esteem among university students. A total number of 120 respondents participated in this cross-sectional study. The Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI-II) was used to measure the level of depressive symptoms and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was used to measure the respondents’ self-esteem. Data collected was analysed by utilizing Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22.0. Students were reported to experience mild level of depression (Overall BDI-II mean=15.75) and possesses moderate level of self-esteem (Overall RSES mean=16.8). Notably, this study had found a weak negative relationship between depressive symptoms and self-esteem (r=-0.222, p=0.015). It can be concluded that the higher level of depressive symptoms is linked to lower level of self-esteem among university students. Hence, appropriate prevention strategies are crucial for both; university students who possess low self-esteem as well as those who experience high level of depression symptoms.