J Korean Community Nurs.  2002 Jun;13(2):354-362.

Relationships among Perceived Life Stress, Self-esteem and Depression in Middle-Aged Women

• Park GJ
• Lee JH
• Kim MO
• Bang BK
• Youn SJ
• Choi EJ

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
This study was conducted to examine the relationships among perceived life stress, self-esteem, and depression in middleaged women.
METHODS
Data were collected from March 30 to May 25, 2000. The study subjects were 123 middle-aged women living in Pusan. The instruments used for this study were the Perceived Life Stress scale developed by Lee (1984), based on the original scale designed by Yu, et al. (1994), Self-esteem scale developed by Rho, et al. (1997), and the Depression scale developed by Ahn (1988). For data analysis, the SPSS PC+ was utilized, by which frequency and percentage, mean and standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, Sheffe's test and Pearson's correlation coefficients were examined. The reliability of the instruments were tested by Cronbach's alpha, showing the internal consistency of 0.7328 for the self-esteem scale, and 0.8987 for the depression scale.
RESULTS
1) The results showed a relatively low perceived life stress score in the middle-aged women with a mean and standard deviation of 363.18 and 72.92 (range: .00 - 1877.38). 2) The results showed a relatively high self-esteem score in the middle-aged women with a mean and standard deviation of 29.77 and 5.06 (range: 10 - 40). 3) The results showed a relatively high depression score in the middle-aged women with a mean and standard deviation of 39.46 and 9.38 (range: 0 - 61). 4) There were no statistically significant differences in perceived life stress by demographic related factors. 5) There were statistically significant differences in self-esteem by health status (F= 8.930, p= .000) and economic status (t=4.792, p= .010). 6) There were statistically significant differences in depression by age (F=3.770, p= .0261), education (F=4.850, p= .003) and regularity of menstrual cycle (F=13.180, p= .000). 7) There was no statistically significant correlation between perceived life stress, and self-esteem in the middle-aged women (r=-.077, p= .399). 8) There was no significant correlation between perceived life stress, and depression in the middle-aged women (r= .010, p= .916). 9) There was a significant negative correlation between self-esteem, and depression in the middle-aged women (r=- .359, p= .000).
CONCLUSION
Higher self-esteem was related to a lower depression status. Therefore, it is necessary to elevate the level of self-esteem in order to reduce the level of depression in middle-aged Korean women.

MeSH Terms

Busan
Depression*
Education
Female
Humans
Menstrual Cycle
Statistics as Topic
Stress, Psychological*