Self-referent upward counterfactuals and depression: Examining regret as a mediator

Figures & data

Figure 1. Percentage of negative events recalled across different life domains.

Table 1. Summary statistics of study variables

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1. Depression	1	.34**	.30**	.30**	−.01	−.26**	−.07	−.12	−.14	−.33**
2. Regret		1	.57**	.31**	.24**	−.26**	.07	−.17*	.05	−.23**
3. Self-referent upward			1	.35**	.20*	−.27**	−.01	−.18*	.05	−.28**
4. Other-referent upward				1	.31**	−.16	.18*	−.03	.03	−.08
5. Nonreferent downward					1	−.01	.19*	−.02	.18*	.12
6. Self-deceptive enhancement						1	.07	.27**	−.04	.23**
7. Religiosity							1	.02	.20*	.06
8. Age								1	−.09	.49**
9. Gender									1	.12
10. Educational attainment										1
Mean	2.32	3.81	12.87	12.51	8.83	100.97	3.99	28.23	1.65	6.37
SD	0.74	1.39	3.74	4.26	2.49	13.01	1.64	9.23	0.48	1.35

Note: n = 147. Gender, Male = 1, Female = 2.

* p < .05.

** p < .01.

Figure 2. Mediational model representing the direct pathway (solid line) and indirect pathway (dotted line) from self-referent upward counterfactuals to depression via regret, while controlling for other-referent upward counterfactuals, nonreferent downward counterfactuals, and self-deceptive enhancement.

Notes: The total effect is in boldface. Standardised beta coefficients are reported. ***p < .001, * p < .05.

Table 2. Regret as mediator of the relationship between self-referent upward counterfactual thinking and depression

	Regret						Depression
Variable	Effect	B	SE	p	95% CIs	sr	B	SE	p	95% CIs	sr
Self-referent upward	Total						0.04	0.02	.03	0.01 to 0.07	.17
Covariates
Other-referent upward							0.04	0.02	.00	0.01 to 0.07	.22
Nonreferent downward							−0.04	0.02	.13	−0.09 to 0.01	−.12
Self-deceptive enhancement							−0.01	0.01	.04	−0.02 to −0.00	−.16
Model							F (4, 142) = 7.50, p < .001, R^2 = .17
Self-referent upward		0.18	0.03	<.001	0.13 to 0.23	.44
Covariates
Other-referent upward		0.03	0.02	.23	−0.02 to 0.08	.08
Nonreferent downward		0.06	0.04	.12	−0.02 to 0.14	.11
Self-deceptive enhancement		−0.01	0.01	.09	−0.03 to 0.00	−.11
Model		F (4, 142) = 19.92, p < .001, R^2 = .36
Regret							0.12	0.05	.02	0.02 to 0.22	.17
Self-referent upward	Direct						0.02	0.02	.37	−0.02 to 0.05	.07
Covariates
Other-referent upward							0.04	0.02	.01	0.01 to 0.07	.20
Nonreferent downward							−0.04	0.02	.07	−0.09 to 0.00	−.14
Self-deceptive enhancement							−0.01	0.01	.07	−0.02 to 0.00	−.14
Model							F (5, 141) = 7.26, p < .001, R^2 = .21
Self-referent upward	Indirect						0.02	0.01		0.00 to 0.05

Note: Unstandardised beta coefficients are reported.