1. Megan Haynes, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences & Honors College, Center for Psychosocial Health Depression in college students: Perceived stress, loneliness, and self-esteem Mentors: Dr. Mark Vosvick, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Chwee-Lye Chng, Department of Kinesiology, College of Arts and Sciences Center for Psychosocial Health

2. Hypotheses Perceived stress will be positively associated with depression Loneliness will be positively associated with depression Self-esteem will be negatively associated with depression We predict that perceived stress, loneliness, and self-esteem will account for the majority of variance of depression Center for Psychosocial Health

3. Methodology Measures –Perceived Stress Scale Cohen et al., 1983 Cronbach’s α =.85 “In the last month, how often have you been upset about something that has happened unexpectedly?” 4 point likert-type scale: 0=Never 4=Very Often –UCLA Loneliness Scale Russell, 1996 Cronbach’s α =.94 “How often do you feel completely alone?” 4 point likert-type scale: 0=Never 4=Very Often Center for Psychosocial Health - Self-Esteem Scale Rosenberg, Schooler, & Schoenbach, 1989 Cronbach’s α=.78 “All in all, I’m inclined to feel that I am a failure” 4 point likert-type scale: 1 = strongly agree 4 = strongly disagree - The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (Drebing et al., 1994; Kalichman et al., 2000) Cronbach’s α =.84 “I felt happy” 4 point likert-type scale: 0 = rarely, none of the time 4 = most of the time Method After receiving IRB approval, participants were recruited from psychology classes at the University of North Texas and given extra credit in return for participation. 316 participants completed consent forms and the self-report survey on computers via QDS software in the Center for Psychosocial Health.

4. Sample Demographics GenderNumber Percent Female240 75.9 Ethnicity European American184 58.2 African/American62 19.6 Latino30 9.5 Other17 5.3 Center for Psychosocial Health Variable Mean(SD) Possible Range 4 - 36 Perceived Stress 19.51 4 - 36 Loneliness 12.92 0 - 30 Self-esteem 28.73 22 - 34 Mean (SD) Range Age21.09 (4.96) 17 – 56 Years of Education13.77 (1.13) 1 – 22

5. Inferential Statistics 123456 1. Age----- 2. Gender-.06----- 3. Perceived Stress -.02.19*----- 4. Loneliness-.02.03.50*----- 5. Self-esteem-.06.03-.44*-.42*----- 6. Depressive Symptoms.03.09.70*.60*-.47*----- Predictors Depression β t VIF p Perceived Stress.49 11.24 1.46.000** Loneliness.30 6.90 1.43.000** Self-esteem -.12 -3.05 1.33.002* Regression AnalysisBivariate Statistics F (3, 312), Adjusted R² =.58 *p<.01, **p<.001 * p <.001 After data was collected, data analysis consisted of bivariate statistics and a linear regression was completed stepwise after controlling for demographic variables. Center for Psychosocial Health

6. Conclusions Hypothesis review –Perceived Stress is positively associated with Depression –Loneliness is positively associated with Depression –Self-esteem is negatively associated with Depression –Perceived Stress, Loneliness, and Self-esteem account for the majority of the variance of Depression Limitations –Self-report survey –Gender imbalance; there were more females than males –This is a cross-sectional, correlational design therefore causal relationships cannot be inferred Center for Psychosocial Health

7. Acknowledgements Dr. Wendy Wilkins, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Gloria Cox, Dean, Honors College Dr. Warren W. Burggren, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Mark Vosvick, Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences Dr. Chwee-Lye Chng, Department of Kinesiology, College of Arts and Sciences Center for Psychosocial Health