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IMPACT OF SOCIAL SUPPORT, SELF-ESTEEM AND RELIGIOSITY AS DETERMINANTS OF DEPRESSION AMONG ADOLESCENTS IN OWERRI MUNICIPAL

Abstract

This study investigated Social Support, Self-Esteem and Religiosity as Determinants of Depression among Adolescents in Owerri Municipal. Three hypotheses were postulated and tested. Two hundred (200) participants were drawn from Owerri Municipal in Imo State through convenience sampling technique. They comprised of one Hundred (100) males and one hundred (100) females with an age range of 17 years to 40 years, a mean age of 24.69. Four instruments were employed for the study; The Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL), Index of Self-Esteem Manual (ISE), Intrinsic Religiosity Scale (IRS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). Cross-sectional survey design was adopted for this study and three-way ANOVA statistics was used to analyse the data collected. Results show that the findings of this study indicate no statistically significance impact of social support on depression among adolescents in Owerri Municipal. The second hypothesis which states no statistical influence of religiosity on depression among youths in Owerri Municipal was accepted. The third hypothesis which states that there will be no statistically significant influence of self-esteem on depression among youths in Owerri Municipal was also accepted. The study recommends that having a good therapeutic encounter will help reduce low self-esteem and depression. Suggestion for this study is to examine the factors that causes and reduces the incidences of depression among youths.