| Depression is an area of concern for college students. College students have higher rates of depression than non-college peers. Additionally, depression is related to multiple risk-taking behaviors and lower performance in school. This study examined the relationships between gender, friendship support, self-esteem and depression ratings in a Midwestern college sample. Undergraduate psychology students completed multiple self-report inventories, including the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support; and they provided information about the number of days they were depressed or their mental health was not good in the previous month. An additional model was run examining the relationships between the aforementioned variables and the number of days reported with mental health not good. While research shows that all three variables can affect depression in a college student population, the present study found that gender interacted with these measures. On the one hand, increased friendship support seemed to buffer males but especially females from depression. On the other hand, increased self-esteem buffered males from depression more than it buffered females. The additional model showed that self-esteem seems to work across genders to buffer college students from the experience of poor mental health days. Perhaps, when looking to intervene in the lives of the students, universities would be able to tailor interventions based on gender, so that they are able to foster increased friendship support for females and increase self-esteem for males, thereby reducing depression's impact on students. |
