Enhancing Self‐Esteem: Evaluating the Effects of a Self‐Affirmation Intervention Among Indian Adults With Subclinical Depression

ABSTRACT Objectives Previous research reports self‐affirmation interventions to be efficacious in enhancing many life outcomes of normal individuals, but limited research has assessed its restorative and preserving capacities to enhance and maintain the self‐esteem of individuals with subclinical depressive tendencies. Methods This study employed an experimental research design. Eighty participants (age range = 22–27 years) with subclinical depression were chosen using purposive sampling and were randomly assigned in equal numbers to the experimental and control conditions and their self‐esteem was measured at pre‐intervention, post‐intervention and follow‐up intervals. Results Results showed that the experimental group participants evoked significantly higher mean scores ( F (1, 76) = 29.20, p < 0.001, η 2 = 0.28) on self‐esteem as compared to the control group at post‐intervention (Control: Mean ( SD ) = 17.48 (2.73); Experimental: Mean ( SD ) = 51.43 (3.29)) and follow‐up (Control: Mean ( SD ) = 18.28 (2.72); Experimental: Mean ( SD ) = 48.65 (3.74)). There was a significant difference in the mean scores of the self‐esteem of the experimental group participants during post‐intervention and follow‐up ( F (2, 152) = 6.50, p = 0.002, η 2 = 0.08). These findings were evident in the conditions' (experimental, control) and intervals' (pre‐intervention, post‐intervention, follow‐up) main and interaction effects: F (2, 152) = 6.54, p < 0.002, η 2 = 0.08; and F (2, 152) = 3.87, p < 0.023, η 2 = 0.05. The size of these effects ranged from very low, low, to medium ( η 2 ). Conclusion The findings revealed the restorative and preserving capacities of this self‐affirmation intervention for self‐esteem. The positive outcomes of the self‐affirmation intervention may have been produced as result of the activation of meaning, positive cognitions and positive relationships.