Assessment of Implicit Self-Esteem in Older Adults: The Role of Actual and Ideal Self-Esteem in Negative Mood.
The interplay between actual and ideal self-esteem may be a key component in emotional disorders. Since automatic self-evaluations are not always consciously accessible, assessment through implicit measures is necessary. Given the lack of implicit self-esteem measures in late life, we aimed to identify a reliable measure and to clarify the role of actual and ideal self-esteem in mood and depressive symptoms in older adults. Forty-nine older adults completed two adapted Go/No go Association tasks measuring implicit actual and ideal self-esteem and measures of mood and depressive symptoms. The two Go/No go Association tasks showed satisfactory internal consistency. Moderation analyses revealed that lower actual self-esteem in older adults is related to higher levels of sad mood when ideal self-esteem is high. Moreover, lower actual self-esteem is related to more anxious mood. Given the role of self-esteem in emotional well-being, a reliable measure for older adults is crucial to improve age-appropriate diagnostics and treatment.
1 Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Ineke
I
Demeyer
1 Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Nuria
N
Romero
1 Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Rudi
R
De Raedt
D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009341:Negativism; D011581:Psychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D000078602:Sadness; D012649:Self Concept; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
depression; implicit measure; negative mood; older adults; self-esteem