This study investigated hope and meaning in life as potential predictors of
depression among Filipino adolescents. Scales measuring hope, meaning in life and
depression were administered to a group of tertiary-level students at a premier state
university in Southern Luzon. Scores were analyzed using descriptive, correlation and
regression statistics. Majority of the adolescent participants scored averagely in all of
the scales. Findings revealed that adolescent depression is inversely correlated with
hope and presence of meaning while positively correlated with search for meaning.
Presence of meaning and hope (overall, pathway) were revealed as suppressive
variables significantly predicting lower depression while search for meaning was a
positive predictor. Moreover, while presence of meaning was found to be the best
predictor of lower levels of depression, hope (overall, pathway) explained additional
depression variance beyond what meaning in life accounted for. Based on these
findings, family- and community-based support, referral system and other directions for
research and interventions were discussed.