TY - JOUR
T1 - Left out, sluggardly, and blue
T2 - Low self-control mediates the relationship between ostracism and depression
AU - DeWall, C. Nathan
AU - Gilman, Rich
AU - Sharif, Vicki
AU - Carboni, Inga
AU - Rice, Kenneth G.
PY - 2012/11
Y1 - 2012/11
N2 - Ostracism strikes at the core of well-being, often increasing depression. Yet, it is unclear whether low self-control may account for the relationship between ostracism and depression. When people experience ostracism, they lose their willingness to control their impulses. This lack of self-control may have negative consequences for ostracized people's mental health, including their level of depressive symptoms. Using two large, independent samples of young adolescents (Ns = 918 and 487), we examined whether chronic ostracism would relate to lower self-control, which may predict higher levels of depressive symptoms. We found that in both samples, self-control mediated the relationship between ostracism and depressive symptoms. Further, the relationship between self-control and depressive symptoms was moderated by the level of ostracism. Discussion centers on the role of self-control processes in understanding and reducing the negative consequences of ostracism.
AB - Ostracism strikes at the core of well-being, often increasing depression. Yet, it is unclear whether low self-control may account for the relationship between ostracism and depression. When people experience ostracism, they lose their willingness to control their impulses. This lack of self-control may have negative consequences for ostracized people's mental health, including their level of depressive symptoms. Using two large, independent samples of young adolescents (Ns = 918 and 487), we examined whether chronic ostracism would relate to lower self-control, which may predict higher levels of depressive symptoms. We found that in both samples, self-control mediated the relationship between ostracism and depressive symptoms. Further, the relationship between self-control and depressive symptoms was moderated by the level of ostracism. Discussion centers on the role of self-control processes in understanding and reducing the negative consequences of ostracism.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Depression
KW - Ostracism
KW - Self-control
KW - Self-regulation
KW - Social exclusion
KW - Social rejection
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84865545318&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84865545318&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.paid.2012.05.025
DO - 10.1016/j.paid.2012.05.025
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84865545318
SN - 0191-8869
VL - 53
SP - 832
EP - 837
JO - Personality and Individual Differences
JF - Personality and Individual Differences
IS - 7
ER -