ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Depression, Self-Efficacy, and the Mediating Role of Self-Esteem: Evidence from Women Entrepreneurs
Provisionally accepted
Hassan HassanAhmadi1*
MohammadJawad Hoseinzadeh2- 1Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran, Iran
- 2Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Faculty of Administrative and Economics Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
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This study investigates the relationship between depression and self-efficacy among women entrepreneurs in Herat, with a particular emphasis on the mediating role of self-esteem. The entrepreneurial context, while offering financial independence and personal growth, also exposes women to significant psychological stressors such as financial insecurity, patriarchal norms, and limited social support. A total of 110 entrepreneurial women aged 20–45 participated in this research through convenience sampling. Data were collected using standardized instruments: the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI), and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE). Analysis was performed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings revealed that depression negatively predicted both self-esteem and self-efficacy, while self-esteem exerted a significant positive effect on self-efficacy. Mediation testing confirmed that self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between depression and self-efficacy, explaining a substantial proportion of the variance in self-efficacy (R² = 0.49). These results highlight the dual psychological challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, where depressive symptoms reduce both perceived competence and self-worth, subsequently lowering efficacy. The study demonstrates that enhancing self-esteem is a key pathway to mitigating the detrimental effects of depression and improving entrepreneurial resilience. Practical implications include the development of interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, self-esteem enhancement workshops, and peer-support initiatives tailored to entrepreneurial contexts. By addressing both depressive symptoms and self-esteem, such strategies may strengthen self-efficacy, support women's psychological well-being, and ultimately promote sustainable entrepreneurial success in developing economies.
Keywords: Depression, Herat, PLS-SEM, self-efficacy, self-esteem, WomenEntrepreneurs
Received: 02 Oct 2025; Accepted: 10 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 HassanAhmadi and Hoseinzadeh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hassan HassanAhmadi
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