Relationship between Clothing Behavior & Depressive Mood

Kim, Sung Wan; Lee, Moo Suk

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The dressing is the basic human need and daily activity. Clothing have the function of self expression as well as self protection. The clothing behavior is closely related to psychic world and one's emotion. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between clothing behavior as daily activity and depressive mood as popular human emotion. METHOD: Outpatients with depressive disorder (N =88) were selected among those visiting Chonnam National University hospital. Those who had been diagnosed as depressive disorder and treated were selected by reviewing of medical records. Questionnaires for clothing behavior were initially selected from previous studies and finally 25 questions were chosen through preliminary study. Depressive symptom scales were rated by Beck Depressive Inventory (BDI). We compared the two groups divided by BDI score of 16 on 5 variable elements about clothing behavior and evaluated correlation between depressive mood and clothing behavior.
RESULTS
The psychologic dependency and clothing satisfaction were related to depression. The psychologic dependency was defined as appropriate clothing behavior relieving depressive mood, but unsatisfying clothing makes one humble, so one's dressing is affected by one's mood. This psychologic dependency was high in depressive group and had positive correlation with severity of depressive symptoms. The clothing satisfaction defined as satisfaction about clothes, clothing selection and clothed self image was reversely related with severity of depressive symptoms.
CONCLUSION
We found that depressive men had unsatisfying clothing behavior as they had diminished satisfaction about self and feelings of worthlessness. And the clothing behavior functions as reaction formation about depression to overcome inner depressive and empty state in depressive one. These results, on the relationship between clothing behavior and depressive mood provide the need and possibility about therapeutic meaning of clothing for depressive people.