The relationship of self-concept clarity with perceived stress, general anxiety, and depression among young adults

Introduction: Low self-concept clarity might be a mechanism of perceived stress, general anxiety, and depression among young adults. Accordingly, among young adults, we tested the hypotheses that low self-concept clarity predicts increases in perceived stress, general anxiety, and depression, independent of each other, and that, independent of each other, perceived stress, general anxiety, and depression predict decreases in self-concept clarity. Methods: We conducted three yearly assessments of all four constructs among a sample of young adults (N = 1140, M age = 21.38 years old). We used a cross-lagged panel model to evaluate the hypothesized independent, reciprocal change relationships. Results: Less self-concept clarity at year 1 predicted increases in perceived stress, general anxiety, and depression from year 1 to year 2, and less self-concept clarity at year 2 predicted increases in depression from year 2 to year 3. More perceived stress and depression at year 1 predicted decreases in self-concept clarity from year 1 to year 2, and more depression at year 2 predicted decreases in self-concept clarity from year 2 to year 3. Discussion: These findings indicate that low self-concept clarity is potentially a mechanism of perceived stress, general anxiety, and depression among young adults. The persistent reciprocal change relationships between self-concept clarity and depression indicate it might be a mechanism of depression more so than perceived stress and anxiety. Efforts to alleviate these indicators of psychological distress could focus on bolstering self-concept clarity.