title: Implicit and explicit self-esteem as concurrent predictors of suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, and loneliness.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to examine whether explicit and implicit self-esteem, the interaction between these two constructs, and their discrepancy are associated with depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness. Participants were 95 young female adults (M = 21.2 years, SD = 1.88) enrolled in higher education. We administered the Name Letter Task to measure implicit self-esteem, and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale to assess explicit self-esteem. The results indicated that explicit but not implicit self-esteem was negatively associated with depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness. The interaction of implicit and explicit self-esteem was associated with suicidal ideation, indicating that participants with high implicit self-esteem combined with a low explicit self-esteem showed more suicidal ideation. Furthermore, the size of the discrepancy between implicit and explicit self-esteem was positively associated with depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness. In addition, results showed that the direction of the discrepancy is an important: damaged self-esteem (high implicit self-esteem combined with low explicit self-esteem) was consistently associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness, while defensive or fragile self-esteem (high explicit and low implicit self-esteem) was not. Together, these findings provide new insights into the relationship of implicit and explicit self-esteem with depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and loneliness.
authors.affiliation: Mental Health Care Institute, GGZ Oost-Brabant, Burg. Kuyperlaan 5, 5461 AA Veghel, The Netherlands. D.Creemers@pwo.ru.nl
authors.forename: Daan H M
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Creemers
authors.forename: Ron H J
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Scholte
authors.forename: Rutger C M E
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Engels
authors.forename: Mitchell J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Prinstein
authors.forename: Reinout W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Wiers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001244:Association; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012649:Self Concept; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D055815:Young Adult