International Journal of Nursing

A Study of the Process of Reducing Depression in Undergraduate Nursing Students
Yoshihiro SAITO, Mie HACHIYA, Tsukasa KUROKI

Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the process and impact of factors leading to depression reduction among undergraduate nursing students. Method: We developed a conceptual model with reference to previous studies that have examined the factors involved in reducing depression among undergraduate nursing students. Covariance structure analysis was conducted using data from 131 participants who agreed to par-ticipate in the study. Results: The results validated the causal model with ‘Goodness of Fit Index’=.997, ‘Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index’=.949, ‘Comparative Fit In-dex’=1.00, and ‘Root Mean Square Error of Approximation’=.029, indicating a good degree of fit. In the processes and influences leading to depression reduction among undergraduate nursing students, the direct effects were found that self-esteem (-.44) and self-compassion response (-.22) had a strong influence on the reduction of depres-sion, with self-esteem improvement having the greatest influence on depression reduc-tion. On the other hand, the indirect effect, from self-efficacy to self-esteem, was found to be the most important in reducing depression (-.53). The direct and indirect effects suggest that the improvement of self-esteem is important for the reduction of depression, and among these, those with high self-efficacy and self-esteem are most likely to reduce their depression. Conclusions: Self-esteem can develop from negative evaluations to negative cognitions, which may lead to increased depression. The results suggest that in order to reduce depression in undergraduate nursing students, it is nec-essary to construct supportive measures to improve self-efficacy through self-compassion, which will subsequently lead to increased self-esteem.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijn.v10n1a3