Self-esteem consistency predicts the course of therapy in depressed patients

Carolin Eberl, Isabell Winkler, Steffen Pawelczack, Eva Tröbitz, Mike Rinck, Eni S Becker and Johannes Lindenmeyer

PLOS ONE, 2018, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-19

Abstract: Previous studies on self-esteem and depression demonstrated the usefulness of both implicit and explicit self-esteem as well as their congruence (also known as self-esteem consistency) to predict future depressive symptoms. High self-esteem consistency describes when implicit and explicit self-esteem match (e.g., both high or both low). In the current study, we investigated if implicit and explicit self-esteem and self-esteem consistency predict the course of treatment efficacy of a cognitive behavioral depression therapy. Explicit self-esteem was assessed by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, implicit self-esteem by a priming task. Participants were 31 patients with a major depressive or recurrent depressive disorder receiving cognitive behavioral therapy treatment in an inpatient setting. Self-esteem measures were administered before treatment. The development of depression symptoms during treatment and at the 4-month follow-up was measured on the Beck Depression Inventory. Implicit and explicit self-esteem did not predict the course of the therapy. Patients with congruent self-esteem, however, improved faster and showed lower severity of symptoms throughout treatment. In contrast, neither explicit nor implicit self-esteem nor self-esteem consistency predicted the stability of effects after treatment. Practical implications such as targeting discrepancies in self-esteem during treatment are discussed.

Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0199957

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199957

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