Investigating the Relationship between Ego Strength, Emotional Regulation Difficulty, and Mindfulness in Individuals with Depression

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to predict ego strength based on emotional regulation difficulty and mindfulness in divorced women. Method: The design of this study was descriptive and correlational. The population included all women aged 20-40 years in Qom province in the year 2023. The sampling method used was convenience sampling. Accordingly, the sample size was determined to be 250 based on Kline’s perspective. For sampling, a purposeful and accessible sampling method was employed, with participants being selected through announcements distributed via online messaging channels. The tools used for data collection included the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Garnefski Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (2001), the Baer Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (2006), and the Mark Strom Psychological Ego Strength Questionnaire (1997). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multivariate regression analysis. Results: Correlation test results indicate that the Pearson correlation coefficient for the relationship between emotion regulation and mindfulness, emotion regulation and ego strength, and mindfulness and ego strength was significant at the 0.01 level, indicating that all variables are directly and significantly related (p<0.01). Regression analysis results showed that the independent variables (emotional regulation difficulty and mindfulness) could predict 12% of ego strength variability. Moreover, among the independent variables, mindfulness with a beta coefficient of 0.19 and emotional regulation difficulty with a beta coefficient of 0.17 could positively predict the ego strength of the subjects (p<0.01). Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that ego strength in divorced women can be predicted through the variables of emotional regulation difficulty and mindfulness.