(PS2-B49) Valued Living as a Mediator Between Depressive Symptoms and Emotional, Psychological, and Social Well-being: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Depression is a common mental health disorder that can severely impact an individual's well-being. According to the dual-factor model of mental health (Keyes, 2005), treating the symptoms of depression is essential, but increasing overall well-being is equally important. However, the relationship between depression and well-being is complex, and requires examining multiple factors. Valued living has emerged as a promising potential factor that may be linked to depression and well-being (Christie et al., 2017; Tunç et al., 2023), as it involves engaging in meaningful actions aligned with personal values and goals. Hence, the complex relationship between depression, valued living, and overall well-being requires further investigation.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the potential mediating effect of valued living on the relationship between depressive symptoms and emotional, psychological, and social well-being.

Method: A sample of 267 non-clinical individuals (59.9% male) aged between 18 and 53 (M = 30.82; SD = 8.68) was recruited online. Depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9; Kroenke et al., 2001), emotional, psychological and social well-being (Mental Health Continuum - Short Form, MHC-SF; Keyes, 2008), and valued living (i.e., the combination between importance and actions consistency) (Valued Living Questionnaire, VLQ; Wilson et al., 2010) were measured.

Results: Three different simple mediation analyses were conducted for each dimension of well-being. All mediation analyses showed significant indirect effects for emotional, b = -0.04, 95% CI [-.06, -.01], psychological, b = -0.10, 95% CI [-.17, -.04], and social well-being, b = -0.11, 95% CI [-.19, -.04], in which lower depressive symptoms led to higher valued living, which led to higher emotional, psychological and social well-being, respectively. The direct effects of depressive symptomatology on all 3 types of well-being were also significant, b = -0.23, 95% CI [-.36, -.24]; b = -0.59, 95% CI [-.72, -.46]; b = -0.34, 95% CI [-.47, -.21] explaining 27.45% (emotional), 26.41% (psychological), and 12.59% (social) of the variance. When adding valued living as a mediator, the models increased the explained variance: 33.76% in emotional, 38.44% in psychological, and 28.13% in social well-being.

Discussion: This study shows that valued living is a mediator in the relationship between depressive symptoms and emotional, psychological, and social well-being. Our results showed an effect of valued living on well-being, specially on the psychological and social components, which refer to the eudaimonic part of overall well-being. By participating in meaningful activities, individuals may experience a sense of purpose and fulfillment, which can contribute to their overall well-being. Longitudinal designs should be conducted in order to test the causal effects among these variables. Understanding the relationship between depression, valued living, and well-being and the mechanisms through which valued living can impact well-being may provide valuable insights for the development of effective psychological interventions.