The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem in the Relationship of Social Support and Resilience with Anxiety and Depression among Female Heads of Households

Shaghayegh Soleimani; Reza Mirzaei

Authors

Shaghayegh Soleimani Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ars.C., Islamic Azad University, Arsanjan, Iran. Author https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3399-6583
Reza Mirzaei Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ars.C., Islamic Azad University, Arsanjan, Iran. https://orcid.org/0009-0009-3691-8327

Keywords:

Female heads of households, social support, resilience, self-esteem, depression, anxiety

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship of social support and resilience with anxiety and depression among female heads of households in Shiraz. This descriptive-correlational study used a cross-sectional design. The statistical population consisted of all female heads of households in Shiraz in 2025, from whom 240 participants were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Good Existential Anxiety Questionnaire, and were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings indicated that the conceptual model had an acceptable fit. Social support had a direct negative effect on depression and a direct positive effect on self-esteem. Resilience also had a direct positive effect on self-esteem; however, its direct effect on anxiety was not significant. Self-esteem had direct negative effects on both depression and anxiety. Bootstrap analysis showed that self-esteem significantly mediated the relationships between social support and depression and anxiety, as well as the relationships between resilience and depression and anxiety. The findings suggest that self-esteem, as an important psychological mechanism, helps explain the relationships of external resources, such as social support, and internal resources, such as resilience, with the mental health of female heads of households. In addition, the non-significant direct effect of resilience on anxiety suggests that the association between resilience and anxiety may be explained through cognitive and self-worth mechanisms, including self-esteem.

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