A Study of Association between Depression and Self‑esteem among Dental Students of Udaipur

Abstract

Background: Depression is a strong mood involving sadness, discouragement, despair, or hopelessness that lasts for weeks, months, or even longer and tends to have negative and self‑critical thoughts. The purpose of the present study was to explain the correlation between depression and self‑esteem among dental students of Udaipur. Materials and Methods: Three hundred and fourteen students participated in the study. Self‑esteem was estimated using Rosenberg method using 4‑point Likert scale format ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Beck depression inventory is a 21‑question multiple‑choice self‑report inventory and was used for measuring the severity of depression with a 4‑point scale ranging on severity. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate means. T‑test and Pearson’s correlation were used for statistical analysis.  Results: The mean scores of depression and self‑esteem were found to be 9.11 ± 10.11and 20.11 ± 5.17, respectively, and a negative correlation was found between depression and self‑esteem (r = −0.38). The mean score of self‑esteem of male participants was higher, i.e., 22.24 ± 5.16 and the mean depression score was lesser, i.e., 10.12 ± 7.82 and the findings were statistically significant. Conclusion: The present research suggests that low self‑esteem and depression have strong negative correlation. Improving self‑esteem reduces risk of depression regardless
of whether the individual is enduring stressful or non-stressful life experiences.