Negative Bias or Positive Deficiency, or Both? The Relationship Between Individual Authenticity and Depression Among Preschool Teachers: The Sequential Mediation Effects of Mindfulness and Self-Alienation

Figures & data

Figure 1 Theoretical hypothesis.

Table 1 Social Demographic Features of Participants (N = 328)

Variables		Percentages
Gender	Male	3.70%
	Female	96.30%
Age	23–27	79.57%
	28–32	12.20%
	33–37	5.79%
	38–42	0.91%
	43–47	1.52%
Educational Background	Junior college	72.30%
	Undergraduate course	27.70%

Table 2 Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlations of the Major Study Variables

Variable	M	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
1. Gender	0.960	0.188	1
2. Age	27.490	3.499	−0.005	1
3. Educational Background	1.280	0.448	0.084	−0.052	1
4. AL	5.184	1.467	0.052	0.035	0.055	1
5. AEI	4.917	1.483	0.006	0.071	−0.011	0.585**	1
6. SA	5.171	1.443	0.048	0.035	0.031	0.650**	0.614**	1
7. Observe	3.684	0.875	0.076	−0.026	0.011	0.272**	0.311**	0.280**	1
8. Describe	3.795	0.789	−0.002	−0.002	0.015	0.124*	0.170**	0.153**	0.487**	1
9. ActAware	3.885	0.897	0.014	−0.024	−0.002	0.145**	0.140*	0.151**	0.458**	0.429**	1
10. NonJudge	3.673	0.743	−0.006	−0.024	−0.007	0.170**	0.204**	0.189**	0.579**	0.622**	0.390**	1
11. NonReact	3.846	0.884	0.024	−0.058	−0.015	0.203**	0.233**	0.237**	0.498**	0.482**	0.506**	0.475**	1
12. Self-Alienation	40.848	10.199	−0.073	−0.015	−0.042	−0.332**	−0.341**	−0.295**	−0.271**	−0.187**	−0.115*	−0.242**	−0.195**	1
13. Depression	26.055	8.468	−0.003	−0.108	−0.039	−0.309**	−0.314**	−0.314**	−0.279**	−0.316**	−0.156**	−0.312**	−0.281**	0.479**	1

Note: **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.

Abbreviations: AL, Authentic Living; AEI, Accepting External Influence; SA, Self-Alienation.

Table 3 Results of Exploratory Factor Analysis

Dim	Item	Parameters of Significant Test				Reliability
		Estimate	S.E.	Est./S.E.	P-value	Cronbach’s α
IA	IA1	0.719	0.030	24.277	***	0.933
	IA2	0.796	0.023	34.816	***
	IA3	0.748	0.028	26.960	***
	IA4	0.673	0.033	20.253	***
	IA5	0.736	0.028	26.319	***
	IA6	0.730	0.029	25.079	***
	IA7	0.699	0.031	22.617	***
	IA8	0.700	0.031	22.689	***
	IA9	0.766	0.026	29.915	***
	IA10	0.729	0.029	25.214	***
	IA11	0.746	0.027	27.365	***
Mindfulness	M1	0.685	0.031	22.261	***	0.959
	M2	0.578	0.038	15.164	***
	M3	0.663	0.032	20.569	***
	M4	0.581	0.038	15.329	***
	M5	0.644	0.034	19.059	***
	M6	0.690	0.030	22.658	***
	M7	0.674	0.031	21.407	***
	M8	0.533	0.041	12.955	***
	M9	0.538	0.041	13.167	***
	M10	0.648	0.033	19.384	***
	M11	0.645	0.034	19.100	***
	M12	0.580	0.038	15.154	***
	M13	0.669	0.032	20.916	***
	M14	0.653	0.033	19.773	***
	M15	0.690	0.031	22.556	***
	M16	0.692	0.030	22.833	***
	M17	0.624	0.035	17.637	***
	M18	0.603	0.037	16.360	***
	M19	0.605	0.036	16.591	***
	M20	0.645	0.034	19.101	***
	M21	0.658	0.033	19.994	***
	M22	0.533	0.041	13.049	***
	M23	0.568	0.039	14.501	***
	M24	0.697	0.030	23.287	***
	M25	0.523	0.041	12.642	***
	M26	0.565	0.039	14.418	***
	M27	0.542	0.040	13.413	***
	M28	0.616	0.036	17.091	***
	M29	0.596	0.037	15.983	***
	M30	0.617	0.036	17.268	***
	M31	0.641	0.034	18.874	***
	M32	0.606	0.036	16.651	***
	M33	0.665	0.032	20.607	***
	M34	0.611	0.036	16.828	***
	M35	0.555	0.040	13.917	***
	M36	0.682	0.031	21.890	***
	M37	0.564	0.039	14.350	***
	M38	0.489	0.044	11.201	***
	M39	0.566	0.039	14.569	***
SA	SA1	0.636	0.035	18.347	***	0.916
	SA2	0.656	0.033	19.730	***
	SA3	0.605	0.037	16.439	***
	SA4	0.701	0.030	23.365	***
	SA5	0.728	0.028	26.094	***
	SA6	0.745	0.026	28.131	***
	SA7	0.716	0.029	24.905	***
	SA8	0.562	0.040	14.205	***
	SA9	0.737	0.027	27.194	***
	SA10	0.768	0.025	31.136	***
	SA11	0.713	0.029	24.504	***
	SA12	0.795	0.022	35.614	***
	SA13	0.791	0.023	34.819	***
	SA14	0.740	0.027	27.484	***
	SA15	0.673	0.032	21.025	***
Depression	D1	0.577	0.039	14.666	***	0.937
	D2	0.593	0.038	15.510	***
	D3	0.603	0.038	16.024	***
	D4	0.630	0.036	17.579	***
	D5	0.538	0.042	12.883	***
	D6	0.529	0.042	12.525	***
	D7	0.510	0.043	11.784	***
	D8	0.621	0.037	16.877	***
	D9	0.645	0.035	18.463	***
	D10	0.651	0.035	18.867	***
	D11	0.626	0.036	17.351	***
	D12	0.506	0.044	11.621	***
	D13	0.628	0.036	17.436	***
	D14	0.519	0.043	12.150	***
	D15	0.633	0.036	17.754	***
	D16	0.552	0.041	13.498	***
	D17	0.590	0.038	15.345	***
	D18	0.634	0.036	17.836	***
	D19	0.601	0.038	15.914	***
	D20	0.762	0.026	29.103	***

Note: ***p < 0.001.

Abbreviations: IA, Individual authenticity; SA, Self-Alienation.

Table 4 Fit Indices of the Model

Fit Indices	Recommended Threshold	Scores	Remarks
ML χ^2	–	1454.569	–
Df	–	974	–
χ^2/df	1< χ^2/df < 3	1.493	Acceptable
CFI	> 0.9	0.923	Acceptable
TLI	> 0.9	0.919	Acceptable
RMSEA	< 0.08	0.039	Acceptable
SRMR	< 0.08	0.049	Acceptable

Table 5 The Direct Effect of the Research Paths and Research Model Hypothesis Analysis

DV	IV	Std.Est.	S.E.	Est./S.E.	P-value	R^2	Hypo and Path	Remarks
Depression	IA	−0.175	0.060	−2.903	0.004	0.369	H1: IA → Depression	Support
	Mindfulness	−0.240	0.062	−3.869	***		H2b: Mindfulness → Depression	Support
	Self-Alienation	0.365	0.062	5.874	***		H3b: Self-Alienation → Depression	Support
Mindfulness	IA	0.360	0.061	5.867	***	0.133	H2a: IA → Mindfulness	Support
Self-Alienation	IA	−0.345	0.059	−5.885	***	0.207	H3a: IA → Self-Alienation	Support
	Mindfulness	−0.191	0.060	−3.198	0.001		H4: Mindfulness → Self-Alienation	Support

Note: ***p < 0.001.

Abbreviation: IA, Individual authenticity.

Table 6 The Indirect Effect of the Research Paths

Path	Std.Est.	S.E.	Est./S.E.	P-value	Boot LLCI	Boot ULCI	The Proportion of the Effect
H2: IA → Mindfulness → Depression	−0.023	0.009	−2.634	0.008	−0.046	−0.010	20.91%
H3: IA → Self-Alienation → Depression	−0.034	0.008	−4.002	***	−0.054	−0.020	30.91%
H5: IA → Mindfulness → Self-Alienation → Depression	−0.007	0.003	−2.441	0.015	−0.013	−0.003	6.36%
TOTALIND	−0.063	0.012	−5.095	***	−0.092	−0.042	57.27%
TOTAL	−0.110	0.021	−5.362	***	−0.156	−0.074	100.00%

Note: ***p < 0.001.

Figure 2 Structural equation model.

Note: **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

Abbreviations: AL, Authentic Living; AEI, Accepting External Influence; SA, Self-Alienation.