Exploring the relationship between self-esteem, depression and narcissism of undergraduate university students in Windhoek, Namibia
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Date
2023
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
The relationship between narcissism, depression and self-esteem is worth
exploring for the benefit of mental health awareness and promotion. This study's
primary objective was to investigate the association between these variables
among undergraduate university students in Windhoek, Namibia. The study was
conducted with 147 undergraduate university students. The levels of self-esteem,
depression and narcissism were assessed by deploying the Rosenberg Self-Esteem
Scale, Beck Depression Inventory and Narcissistic Personality Inventory 40
respectively. Information was obtained through online self-administered
questionnaires. Data was analysed using Microsoft Excel and then imported into
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Software (SPSS) version 25.0. The
study found that there is a strong negative correlation between self-esteem and
depression (-0.81), a moderate positive correlation between self-esteem and
narcissism (0.67) and a weak negative correlation between depression and
narcissism (-0.47). An observed limitation is that the sample size used for the
study is relatively small. The researcher recommends that further research be
carried out at other institutions of higher learning in Namibia. Furthermore, the
study did not focus on the direction and strength of the relationship between these
variables. The researcher thus recommends that further research be carried out to
fully understand the nature, direction as well as strength of the relationship
between self-esteem, depression and narcissism. In view with the findings by
Rousseau et al. (2021), the findings from the present study imply the necessity of
preventive interventions during vulnerable undergraduate study periods and lay the
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groundwork for treatment plans that are specifically adapted to the needs of the
most susceptible undergraduate students at the University of Namibia (UNAM)
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of masters degree of arts in clinical psychology
Keywords
Narcissism, Depression, Self-esteem, Undergraduate students, Psychology