The Impact of Students’ Perceived Relationships With Teachers on Their Depression in Third-Year Middle School Students: Moderated Mediation Effect of Self-Esteem Through Academic Helplessness

Objectives This study examined whether academic helplessness mediates the impact of students’ perceived relationships with teachers on their depression in third-year middle school students. Additionally, it explored whether self-esteem has a moderated mediation effect whinin this mediating process. Methods To this end, a total of 2,590 third-year middle school students (1,278 male students and 1,106 female students) were used as the final data using the 3rd year data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 for descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation analysis, and analyzed using PROCESS MACRO 4.2. Results First, in the relationship between student-teacher relationship and depression, academic helplessness was found to have a mediating effect. Second, it was found that self-esteem moderrated the relationship between student-teacher relationship and academic helplessness. Third, it was verified that the mediating effect of the student-teacher relationship on depression through academic helplessness was moderated according to the level of self-esteem. Conclusions This study verified the mediating effect of academic helplessness in the relationship between student-teacher relationship and depression and confirmed the moderated mediating effect of self-esteem. This is significant in that it suggested that an integrated intervention plan is needed to prevent and reduce students' depression in the scene of education and counseling.