Relationships among nursing students’ self-concept clarity, meaning in life, emotion regulation ability and depression: Testing a moderated mediation model

Abstract

ObjectiveSelf-concept clarity as an inducing factor of depressive symptoms has been confirmed in previous studies. However, little is known about how and when it induces depressive symptoms in nursing students. The study is to examine the potential mediating role of meaning in life and the moderation of emotion regulation ability in the association between self-concept clarity and depressive symptoms among college nursing students.Materials and MethodsA sample of 488 college nursing students participated in this study Southeast China. The Chinese adaptations of Self-concept clarity Scale, Sense of life Scale, Depression scale, Emotion regulation scale were used. Mediation and moderation analyses were carried out in the SPSS macro PROCESS.ResultsSelf-concept clarity was significantly and negatively associated with depression in nursing students, meaning in life had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between self-concept clarity and depression. Furthermore, emotion regulation ability moderated the direct effect of self-concept clarity on depression.ConclusionThe findings enrich the knowledge of the mediating and moderating mechanisms to explain the association between self-concept clarity and depression in nursing students. There have been proposed interventions concerning increasing self-concept clarity, meaning in life and emotion regulation ability training which could help help reduce the depression among nursing students.

Self-Concept Clarity and Loneliness among College Students: The Chain-Mediating Effect of Fear of Negative Evaluation and Self-Disclosure

“…Previous empirical studies have also demonstrated a significant negative association between self-concept clarity and depression and social anxiety. Additionally, research has shown that college students with lower self-concept clarity scores are more likely to experience higher levels of depression and social anxiety [ 30 , 44 ]. Self-concept clarity has been found to have a positive correlation with the sense of meaning in life and subjective well-being.…”

Future self‐continuity and depression among college students: The role of presence of meaning and perceived social support

“…Thus, college students with high levels of presence of meaning in their lives have psychological resources for coping with depression. However, those with low presence of meaning often experience depression in the context of meaninglessness (Hong et al, 2022). Overall, this study confirmed that future self‐continuity can indirectly influence depression by affecting the presence of meaning.…”

Who I am and who I want to be: The positive effect of self-concept clarity on purpose, life satisfaction, and personal meaning among Chinese and Indonesian emerging adults

“…This association likely arises from clearer goal setting and reduced stress/depression (Coutts et al, 2023), even promoting healthier gaming habits (Green et al, 2021). The positive link between self-concept clarity and meaning in life has been reported among Turkish university students (Çebi & Demir, 2022) and Chinese nursing students (Hong et al, 2022). In one cross-cultural study, self-concept clarity had no significant link to the psychological outcome in a collectivistic culture, but a significant correlation was observed in an individualistic culture (Quinones & Kakabadse, 2015).…”