Korean J Child Stud. 2011; 32(6): 141-155.
The Effect of elf-discrepancies Upon Depression and Anxiety Levels in Middle and High School Students: The Moderating Effects of Coping Strategies and Positive Thinking Patterns
중,고등학생의 자기불일치가 우울 및 불안에 미치는 영향: 대처방식과 희망적 사고의 조절효과
이가은 , 강민주
Ga Eun Lee , Min Ju Kang
ABSTRACT
This study investigated whether middle school and high school students` coping strategies and positive thinking patterns moderate the negative effects of self-discrepancies on maladjustive emotions represented by depression and anxiety. The study participants consisted of 308 middle school students and 301 high school students from schools from metropolitan areas in Korea. The results of this study were as followed. First, the high school students reported higher scores in terms of depression, anxiety, and active coping strategies than the middle school students, while the middle school students reported higher scores in terms of positive thinking than the high school students. Second, the high school students` active coping strategies and positive thinking patterns moderated the negative effects of self-discrepancies on maladjustive emotions. These results indicate that both middle and high school students` self-discrepancies negatively affected maladjustive emotions, whereas active coping strategies and positive thinking patterns positively affected maladjustive emotions. In addition, active coping strategies and positive thinking patterns had a moderating effect only among the high school students.
Key words :
self-discrepancy, coping strategy, positive thinking patterns, depression, anxiety
