The purpose of this study is to verify the mediating effects of self-concealment and unconditional self-acceptance in the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and depression in early adulthood. To identify the relationships between variables, data were collected from 420 early adults aged 18 to 35. Participants of the study completed the Brief-Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale(BFNE), Self-Concealment Scale(SCS), Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ), and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). A total of 418 responses were used in final analysis of this study, excluding 2 participants who were not the standard of age. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS 21.0 and SPSS macro to confirm the relationship between variables and mediating effects.
The results of this study are as follows. First, fear of negative evaluation, self-concealment, unconditional self-acceptance and depression had statistically significant correlations. Second, self-concealment partially mediated the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and depression. Finally, unconditional self-acceptance partially mediated the relationship between fear of negative evaluation and depression.
The implications of this study are as follows. First, this study is related to fear of negative evaluation, self-concealment, unconditional self-acceptance and depression which has not been explored yet in various ways in Korea. Therefore, the results of this study will be a helpful study for early adulthood who experience depression due to fear of negative evaluation. Second, self-concealment affects therapeutic relationship. Thus, unconditional self-acceptance is effective in reducing depression. Therefore, the program based on acceptance would be helpful effective at reducing their depression.