The Effect of Self Esteem on the Depression of Victims of School Violence

This study examined the effects of self-esteem on depression among Korean high school students who experienced school violence. Using data from the 2018 Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS, Wave 6), the sample included 94 high school seniors (aged 18) who had experienced school violence at least once. The IBM SPSS Statistics 31.0 software was used to conduct descriptive, correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses, with self-esteem entered as the independent variable and gender as a control variable to predict depression levels. The regression results indicated that both self-esteem (𝛃 = -0.613, p < .01) and gender (𝛃 = 0.194, p < .05) were significant predictors of depression. Notably, self-esteem showed a substantially stronger effect, suggesting that it serves as a critical protective factor against depression among students who have experienced school violence. These findings underscore the importance of developing school-based interventions that enhance self-esteem to mitigate depressive symptoms in victims of school violence. Moreover, practitioners should recognize that female students may be particularly vulnerable to depression following such experiences. Finally, future research directions and study limitations are discussed in this study.