Understanding the Efficacy of self-Affirmation Intervention for Subclinical Depression Among Young Adults

Objective: The study attempts to understand the effectiveness of the self-affirmation intervention for subclinical depression in Indian adults. Methods: An experimental research design was employed. Using purposive sampling, 80 participants with subclinical depression were chosen who were randomly allocated equally to the experimental (intervention) and control (non-intervention) conditions. Their depression was measured at three-time points: pre- and post-interventions and follow-up. We hypothesize that the self-affirmation intervention will show curative and preventive capacity for subclinical depression. Data were analyzed using 3-way ANOVA. Results: The results revealed the significant curative power of the self-affirmation intervention for subclinical depression of the participants of the experimental condition, when compared to the control condition. The main effects of conditions (intervention: control and experimental) and treatment intervals (pre-, post-, and follow-up) as well as their interaction effect were significant. Mean subclinical depression scores during pre- and post-interventions and post-intervention and follow-up intervals confirmed the curative and prophylactic power of the intervention. Conclusion: The study findings indicated that the affirmation-based intervention carries both curative and preventive powers for subclinical depression, as reflected in the experimental group’s lower performance after the intervention and follow-up. The reverberating positive effects induced after self-affirmation manipulation might have remained active even after the intervention ended because of the underlying mechanisms of meaning, strengths, positive attributions, and beneficial social relationships that inhibit the relapse of subclinical depressive tendencies.