Self-deception, Psychological Capital and Depression in Normal University Students: A Cross-lagged Analysis

Abstract University students are particularly vulnerable to depression. This study examines the correlation and causation between self-deception, psychological capital, and depression in a sample of students from Chinese normal university and assumes that self-deception, like psychological capital, is a positive psychology variable to supply rational interventions for the precaution of potential depressive normal university students. A 3-month follow-up mental health study was conducted on 260 Chinese normal university students, using Self-Deceptive Enhancement scale, Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and Positive Psychological capital Questionnaire. The Cross-lagged panel Model was employed to test the causal relationship between self-deception, psychological capital, and depression. The prevalence of depression among the average college student is as high as 35.0%. The correlation analysis showed that self-deception was positively correlated with psychological capital and negatively correlated with depression, and psychological capital was negatively correlated with depression. The cross-lagged analyses revealed that self-deception could negatively predict depression (β = -0.16, p < 0.01); Psychological capital could negatively predict depression (β= -0.16, p < 0.01); Self-deception could positively predict psychological capital (β = 0.23, p < 0.001) and the reciprocal effect (β = 0.13, p < 0.05) was also observed. The existence of a causal relationship between self-deception, psychological capital and depression, which support the cognitive bias orientation of self-deception and the risk compensation model of psychological capital, and provides a theoretical basis for designing easy-to-administer interventions to alleviate students' depressive symptoms in the classroom.