Social support, self-esteem and depression among adolescents

Abstract

Depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, decreased energy, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, and poor concentration. Depression is a serious problem among school going adolescents. This study aimed at examining the relationship between social support, self-esteem and depression among adolescents. The research adopted a correlational research design. Data was collected by use of a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 100 respondents both male and female aged 13-21 years were selected by use of simple random sampling technique. The data was analyzed using the Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation (rs). Results show that there is a significant relationship between social support and self-esteem among adolescents; there is a significant relationship between self-esteem and depression among adolescents and lastly there is a significant relationship between social support and depression among adolescents.