(PS2-C69) Building a Model for the Relationship Between Failure and Depression: A Pilot Study

Background: The learned helplessness model of depression suggests that humans can be conditioned to believe that there is no way to escape pain and suffering and, therefore, will no longer work to avoid the pain and suffering (Seligman, 1972). Experiences of failure often result in negative emotions (e.g., Nummenmaa & Niemi, 2004); however, experiences of failure can also produce growth (Tao et al., 2021). Thus, repeated failures are likely to be associated with depressive symptoms, but risk may be mitigated when failures are appraised as growth opportunities. The current study aimed to lay a groundwork for investigating the relationships between experiences of failure and depression symptoms, as well as how constructs such as hope (Snyder et al., 1996), grit (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009), and a fear of failure contribute to these associations. We hypothesized that more experiences of failure and a fear of failure would be associated with greater symptoms of depression, but that hope and grit would moderate these relationships. Furthermore, we hypothesized that hope and grit would be negatively correlated with a fear of failure.

Methods: We collected data from 133 undergraduate students at a large midwestern university (50.4% female; 73.7% White; Mean age = 19.20 years). All participants completed self-report questionnaires for information regarding demographic characteristics, symptoms of depression (PHQ-9; Kroenke & Spitzer, 2002), experiences of failure, hope (Snyder et al., 1991), and grit (Duckworth & Quinn, 2009).

Results: Depression symptoms were positively associated with frequency of failure, r(126) = .45, p < .001, and fear of failure, r(126) = .70, p < .001. Depression symptoms were negatively correlated with hope, r(124) = -.356, p < .001, and grit, r(123) = -.415, p < .001, scores. Additionally, hope and grit were both significantly inversely associated with depression symptoms even after accounting for frequency of failure and fear of failure.

Discussion: The results of this pilot study reveal relationships between frequency of failure, fear of failure, hope, grit, and depression. From these analyses, we propose a temporal model to be tested in future studies. Specifically, as frequency of failure increases, hope and grit decrease, which then leads to an increase in fear of failure. The resulting increase in fear of failure serves as a risk factor for developing symptoms of depression. However, given that these are cross-sectional data, the correlations could work in the opposite direction where people who are depressed appraise more events as failures. Using longitudinal and/or experimental designs to further investigate the direction and causal relationships between these variables is an important next step in delineating these associations. Finally, our exploratory qualitative analyses revealed that the majority of participants viewed failure as negative or detrimental, while a minority of participants viewed failure as an opportunity for learning, growth, and experience. Future studies examining the learning process of failure appraisals, specifically, looking at developmental timing in experiencing and learning from failure would help us understand these two trajectories following failure experiences.