Son Sookyoung, Jang Yoona, Lee Hyunjung
Innovation Project Group, Woosuk University, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk-do, Republic of Korea.
Department of Education, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
J Youth Adolesc. 2025 Mar;54(3):769-784. doi: 10.1007/s10964-024-02094-4. Epub 2024 Oct 5.
Self-esteem is a powerful protective factor against depressive symptoms, with cognitive vulnerability theory suggesting that early self-esteem more strongly predicts later depressive symptoms than vice versa. While some meta-analyses have examined these relationships, limited knowledge exists on the prospective relationship between self-esteem and depressive symptoms, particularly how it changes with age. This study conducted a longitudinal meta-analysis of nine studies (20,733 participants) on the prospective relationship between self-esteem and depressive symptoms in Korean children and adolescents. Relationships were analyzed by integrating the effect sizes of 22 zero-order correlations and 17 partial correlations and examining age-related changes. The results indicated significant negative correlations in both zero-order and partial correlations. Age-related changes showed a reverse U-shape trend in partial correlations, with the strongest negative association during childhood, weakening until age 14, and then strengthening again. Moderator analysis revealed no significant effect size variation based on publication type or gender proportion, but more recent birth cohorts exhibited a stronger negative relationship in zero-order correlations. Significant differences were also found based on the measurement instrument of depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of tailored interventions to enhance self-esteem and mitigate depressive symptoms, extending the cognitive vulnerability model within Korea's cultural context and providing insights into Korean youth mental health.
自尊是抵御抑郁症状的有力保护因素，认知易感性理论表明，早期自尊比后期抑郁症状更能强烈预测后期抑郁症状，反之则不然。虽然一些元分析研究了这些关系，但关于自尊与抑郁症状之间的前瞻性关系，特别是其如何随年龄变化的知识仍然有限。本研究对九项研究（20733名参与者）进行了纵向元分析，以探讨韩国儿童和青少年自尊与抑郁症状之间的前瞻性关系。通过整合22个零阶相关和17个偏相关的效应量并检查与年龄相关的变化来分析关系。结果表明，零阶相关和偏相关均存在显著负相关。与年龄相关的变化在偏相关中呈倒U形趋势，在儿童期负相关最强，到14岁时减弱，然后再次增强。调节分析显示，基于出版物类型或性别比例，效应量没有显著差异，但最近出生队列在零阶相关中呈现出更强的负相关关系。基于抑郁症状的测量工具也发现了显著差异。这些发现强调了针对性干预以提高自尊和减轻抑郁症状的重要性，在韩国文化背景下扩展了认知易感性模型，并为韩国青少年心理健康提供了见解。
