Effects of actual and ideal moral self discrepancy on depression and wellbeing

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between perceived, personal moral discrepancies and depression/well-being. Prior research suggests that possessing selfdiscrepancies increases a person’s likelihood of displaying depressive symptoms. In addition, there has been research regarding perceived moral discrepancies between an individual and society that have come to similar conclusions. However, no one has examined the consequences of possessing a moral discrepancy within oneself; a discrepancy of a person’s actual moral self, and a person’s ideal moral self. The current study hypothesizes that a perceived discrepancy between a person’s ideal moral self and their actual moral self will be positively correlated with feelings of depression and negatively correlated with well-being. We also examine resilience and guilt as potential mediators of these relationships.