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

• Main Authors: Carolin Eberl, Isabell Winkler, Steffen Pawelczack, Eva Tröbitz, Mike Rinck, Eni S Becker, Johannes Lindenmeyer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC6059392?pdf=render

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.