Depressive symptoms among dance artists in South Korea: balance between self- and social identity on job value

Abstract

Background: The balance between self- and social identity on job value of Korean dance artists, considered as performing artists, was measured to investigate the relationship between balance and depressive symptoms.

Methods: Data of 139 dance artists were analyzed for depressive symptoms assessed by their responses to questionnaires from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) translated into Korean. The balance score of each aspect of social identity compared to that of self-identity on job value was measured and classified as lower, equal, or higher. Following a graphical approach, we performed locally weighted scatterplot smoothing algorithm, simple linear regression, and quadric equation regression.

Results: The mean of CESD was highest in the higher balance group and lowest in the lower balance group. There was a linear relationship between balance score and CESD regarding specific audience, unspecified audience, and unspecified public. Balance score showed no association with other aspects of social identity. In the balance score range of 1 or higher, it was associated with CESD with respect to artist colleague, unspecified audience, and unspecified public.

Conclusions: Dance artists should maintain a balance between self- and social identity in job value to prevent depressive symptoms.

Keywords: Artists; Depressive symptoms; Job identity; Self-identity; Social identity.

Fig. 1. The comparison of CESD among the group of balance score of identity on job value. Lower, Equal, and Higher indicate dancers with lower social-identity than self-identity, with social-identity with self-identity and with higher social-identity than self-identity on job value. The numerical values indicate the p-value from results of post hoc test between the group of balance score of identity on job value. Horizontal line and round point indicate the median and mean of CESD, respectively. Box indicates the inter-quartile range.

CESD: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression.

Fig. 2. The relationship between balance score of each social-identity compared to self-identity on job value and CESD in dancers. The red dashed line indicates the smooth nonparametric curve using a locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (the lowess span, 1.00) and the grey shadow indicates the 95% confidence interval of smoothed curve. The navy solid line indicates the linear regression line between balance score and CESD. β and p-value indicates that linear regression coefficients and its p-value, respectively.
CESD: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression.

^*Indicates that the balance score of social-identity compared to self-identity at the minimum value of CESD in quadratic fitting model.

Fig. 3. The results of piecewise linear regression between balance score on job value and CESD at the breaking point of 1 of balance score. The navy solid line indicates the linear regression line between balance score and CESD.

CESD: Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression.