The direct and interactive effects of neuroticism and life stress on the severity and longitudinal course of depressive symptoms

The direct and interactive effects of neuroticism and stressful life events (chronic and episodic stressors) on the severity and temporal course of depression symptoms were examined in 826 outpatients with mood and anxiety disorders, assessed on 3 occasions over a 1-year period (intake and 6- and 12-month follow-ups). Neuroticism, chronic stress, and episodic stress were uniquely associated with intake depression symptom severity. A significant interaction effect indicated that the strength of the effect of neuroticism on initial depression severity increased as chronic stress increased. Although neuroticism did not have a significant direct effect on the temporal course of depression symptoms, chronic stress significantly moderated this relationship such that neuroticism had an increasingly deleterious effect on depression symptom improvement as the level of chronic stress over follow-up increased. In addition, chronic stress (but not episodic stress) over follow-up was uniquely predictive of less depression symptom improvement. Consistent with a stress generation framework, however, initial depression symptom severity was positively associated with chronic stress during follow-up. The results are discussed in regard to diathesis-stress conceptual models of emotional disorders and the various roles of stressful life events in the onset, severity, and maintenance of depressive psychopathology.     

Do extraversion and neuroticism moderate the association between bullying victimization and internalizing symptoms? A three-wave longitudinal study

The current study examined the moderating roles of neuroticism and extraversion in victims of bullying. According to a stress-diathesis model, we hypothesized that adolescents with high levels of neuroticism and low levels of extraversion would react to victimization with increased symptoms of depression and social anxiety. A sample of 1440 adolescents (648 girls and 792 boys; ages between 13- and 17-years-old) completed measures of extraversion and neuroticism at time 1, as well as measures of bullying victimization, depressive symptoms and social anxiety symptoms at time 1, time 2, and time 3 (in intervals of six months). The results of multilevel analyses for longitudinal data indicated that there was a weak association between bullying victimization and social anxiety symptoms for the adolescents who scored high on extraversion. In addition, the adolescents with high levels of extraversion presented a greater reduction in depressive symptoms over time than adolescents with low levels. Although neuroticism predicted both depression and social anxiety, no significant interactions were evident between neuroticism and bullying victimization. Regarding gender differences, the association between bullying victimization and social anxiety was stronger for boys than for girls, whereas the association between neuroticism and depression was stronger for girls.     

Negative Life Events and Substance Use Moderate Cognitive Behavioral Adolescent Depression Prevention Intervention

Investigate factors that amplify or mitigate the effects of an indicated cognitive behavioral (CB) depression prevention program for adolescents with elevated depressive symptoms. Using data from a randomized trial (Registration No. NCT00183417; n = 173) in which adolescents (M age = 15.5, SD = 1.2) were assigned to a brief cognitive behavioral prevention program or an educational brochure control condition, we tested whether elevated motivation to reduce depression and initial depressive symptom severity amplified intervention effects and whether negative life events, social support deficits, and substance use attenuated intervention effects. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) indicated differential intervention effects for two of the five examined variables: negative life events and substance use. For adolescents at low and medium levels of substance use or negative life events, the CB intervention produced declines in depressive symptoms relative to controls. However, at high levels of substance use or negative life events, the CB intervention did not significantly reduce depressive symptoms in comparison to controls. Results imply that high-risk adolescents with either high rates of major life stress or initial substance use may require specialized depression prevention efforts.     

Cognitive vulnerability to depressive symptoms in adolescents in urban and rural Hunan, China: a multiwave longitudinal study

The current multiwave longitudinal study examined the applicability of two cognitive vulnerability-stress models of depression-Beck's (1967, 1983) cognitive theory and the hopelessness theory (Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989)-in two independent samples of adolescents from Hunan Province, China (one rural and one urban). During an initial assessment, participants completed measures assessing dysfunctional attitudes (Beck, 1967, 1983), negative cognitive style (Abramson et al., 1989), neuroticism (Costa & McCrae, 1992), depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Once a month for the subsequent 6 months, participants completed measures assessing the occurrence of different types of negative events, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Results provided support for cognitive vulnerability factors as predictors of increases in depressive symptoms following the occurrence of higher than average levels of negative events in Chinese adolescents. The results also supported the specificity of these two cognitive vulnerability factors as predictors of depressive versus anxiety symptoms following the occurrence of higher than average levels of negative events (i.e., symptom specificity), and the ability of cognitive vulnerability factors to predict prospective change in depressive symptoms above and beyond the effects of trait neuroticism (i.e., etiological specificity).     

Negative life events and symptoms of depression and anxiety: stress causation and/or stress generation

Background and Objectives: Stressful life events are known to contribute to development of depression; however, it is possible this link is bidirectional. The present study examined whether such stress generation effects are greater than the effects of stressful life events on depression, and whether stress generation is also evident with anxiety. Design: Participants were two large age cohorts (N = 732 aged 44 years; N = 705 aged 63 years) from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 study. Methods: Stressful life events, depression, and anxiety symptoms were measured twice five years apart. Cross-lagged panel analysis examined the mutual influences of stressful life events on depression and on anxiety over time. Results: Life events predicted later depressive symptomatology (p = .01), but the depression predicting life events relationship was less strong (p = .06), whereas earlier anxiety predicted life events five years later (p = .001). There was evidence of sex differences in the extent to which life events predicted later anxiety. Conclusions: This study provides evidence of stress causation for depression and weaker evidence for stress generation. In contrast, there was strong evidence of stress generation for anxiety but weaker evidence for stress causation, and that differed for men and women.     

Complex mediating effects of rumination facets between personality traits and depressive symptoms

This study investigates whether facets of rumination statistically mediate the relationships between Big Five personality traits and depressive symptoms. Self-reported personality traits and rumination were investigated as predictors of depressive symptoms in a cross-sectional sample of 3043 participants aged 18–60 years (68.8% female). Multiple regression analysis investigated which personality traits and rumination facets best explained variance in depressive symptoms. Structural equation modelling was used to determine whether facets of rumination mediated the relationships between personality traits and depressive symptoms. Multiple regression analysis found that variance in depressive symptoms was best explained by the personality traits neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness; and both facets of rumination, brooding and reflection. Structural equation modelling added that the effects of neuroticism, extroversion, conscientiousness and openness on depressive symptoms were statistically mediated by brooding; the effects of neuroticism, extroversion and openness to depressive symptoms were statistically mediated by reflection. Rumination facets statistically mediated the effects of various personality traits on depressive symptoms. These results provide insights into which individuals may be best suited to treatments for depression targeting rumination.     

Personality traits,gender differences and symptoms of anhedonia: What does the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) measure in nonclinical settings?

In healthy populations men report more depressive symptoms than women when depression is measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). This study aims to investigate the role of neuroticism and extroversion in symptom reporting by men and women and whether anhedonia can explain these reversed gender differences in depression observed when using HADS. HADS, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO FFI) were administered twice to a sample of university students. Number of subjects at T1 was 372 and 160 at T2, measured two months apart. Men had a higher average score on depressive symptoms measured by HADS‐D compared to women (p = 0.029). Women scored higher than men on HADS‐A (p = 0.012), neuroticism (p < 0.001) and PANAS‐negative affect (p < 0.029). No significant gender differences were observed in extroversion and positive affect. Test‐retest stabilities on HADS‐A and HADS‐D were high. Neuroticism predicted HADS‐A at Time 2. Gender, extroversion, and neuroticism predicted HADS‐D at Time 2. The anhedonic content in HADS may be a plausible explanation of reversed gender differences in the HADS depression scale. HADS‐D represents a specific anhedonic subtype of depression where symptom reporting reflects dispositional tendencies related specifically to extroversion.     

Be yourself,believe in yourself,and be happy: Self‐efficacy as a mediator between personality factors and subjective well‐being

Strobel, M., Tumasjan, A. & Spörrle, M. (2011). Be yourself, believe in yourself, and be happy: Self‐efficacy as a mediator between personality factors and subjective well‐being. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 52, 43–48. Research has shown close connections between personality and subjective well‐being (SWB), suggesting that personality traits predispose individuals to experience different levels of SWB. Moreover, numerous studies have shown that self‐efficacy is related to both personality factors and SWB. Extending previous research, we show that general self‐efficacy functionally connects personality factors and two components of SWB (life satisfaction and subjective happiness). Our results demonstrate the mediating role of self‐efficacy in linking personality factors and SWB. Consistent with our expectations, the influence of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness on life satisfaction was mediated by self‐efficacy. Furthermore, self‐efficacy mediated the influence of openness and conscientiousness, but not that of neuroticism and extraversion, on subjective happiness. Results highlight the importance of cognitive beliefs in functionally linking personality traits and SWB.     

Neuroticism,Life Events and Negative Thoughts in the Development of Depression in Adolescent Girls

Theories of depression suggest that cognitive and environmental factors may explain the relationship between personality and depression. This study tested such a model in early adolescence, incorporating neuroticism, stress-generation and negative automatic thoughts in the development of depressive symptoms. Participants (896 girls, mean age 12.3 years) completed measures of personality and depressive symptoms, and 12 months later completed measures of depressive symptoms, recent stressors and negative automatic thoughts. Path analysis supported a model in which neuroticism serves as a distal vulnerability for depression, conferring a risk of experiencing dependent negative events and negative automatic thoughts, which fully mediate the effect of neuroticism on later depression. A second path supported a maintenance model for depression in adolescence, with initial levels of depression predicting dependent negative events, negative automatic thoughts and subsequent depressive symptoms. Unexpectedly, initial depression was also associated with later independent life events. This study establishes potential mechanisms through which personality contributes to the development of depression in adolescent girls.     

The Interaction of Extraversion and Anxiety Sensitivity on Social Anxiety: Evidence of Specificity Relative to Depression

Neuroticism and extraversion have been linked to the etiologies and course of anxiety and mood disorders, such that neuroticism is broadly associated with numerous disorders and extraversion is most strongly associated with social anxiety and depression. While previous research has established the broad associations between temperament and emotional disorders, less is known about the specific, proximal factors that are associated with them, and very few studies have situated these risk factors into a larger etiological model that specifies how they may relate to one another. The current study examined the interaction of extraversion and anxiety sensitivity (AS) in predicting social anxiety symptoms in a large, diagnostically diverse clinical sample (N = 826). Symptoms were assessed with self-report and dimensional interview measures, and regression analyses were performed examining the main effects and interaction of extraversion and AS (examining both total and lower-order components) on social anxiety. Results showed that at higher levels of AS, the inverse relationship between extraversion and social anxiety was stronger, and the social concerns component of AS is responsible for this effect. This interaction was also observed with regard to depression symptoms, but the interaction was not present after accounting for shared variance (i.e., comorbidity) between depression and social anxiety symptoms. Clinical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed.     

Predictors of competitive anxiety direction in male Tae Kwon Do practitioners: a multilevel mixed idiographic/nomothetic interactional approach

Objectives: To examine (a) affective states, proximity of competition and personality traits as predictors of anxiety direction and (b) investigate the role of personality characteristics in moderating the relationship between anxiety direction and proximity of competition and affective states.Method: A multilevel mixed idiographic/nomothetic approach. Intensity and direction of competitive anxiety and positive (PA) and negative affect (NA) were monitored in 22 male Tae Kwon Do practitioners across a week preceding a major competition using the experience sampling method (ESM). The participants were assessed on neuroticism and extraversion. Negative and positive affect and anxiety intensity and direction were measured at three random times a day across 1 week before the competition and 1 hour pre-competition.Results: Multilevel regression analyses revealed that cognitive anxiety intensity, positive affect, proximity to competition and extraversion were significant predictors of cognitive anxiety direction. Significant interaction effects of proximity to competition and neuroticism, and neuroticism and negative affect on cognitive anxiety direction were also observed. Somatic anxiety direction was a function of positive affect, somatic anxiety intensity, proximity to competition and the interaction effects of neuroticism and somatic anxiety intensity and neuroticism and proximity to competition.Conclusions: A multilevel mixed idiographic/nomothetic interactional approach may substantially assist in the explanation of intra- and inter-individual differences in anxiety direction.     

Rumination and worrying as possible mediators in the relation between neuroticism and symptoms of depression and anxiety in clinically depressed individuals

Rumination and worrying are considered possible mediating variables that may explain the relation between neuroticism and symptoms of depression and anxiety. The current study sought to examine the mediational effects of rumination and worry in the relationships between neuroticism and symptoms of depression and anxiety in a sample of clinically depressed individuals (N = 198). All patients completed a battery of questionnaires including measures of neuroticism, rumination, worrying, depression, and anxiety. Results showed that in subsequent analyses, rumination and worrying both mediated the relation between neuroticism and depression and anxiety. When rumination and worrying were simultaneously entered in the mediation analysis, only rumination was found to mediate the relation between neuroticism and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Two components of rumination (i.e., brooding and reflection) were also analyzed in the mediational analysis. Both reflection and brooding were significant mediators with respect to depressive symptoms, whereas brooding was the only significant mediator in relation to anxiety symptoms. The results are discussed in the light of current theories, previous research, and recent treatment developments. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Confounding of Big Five Personality Assessments in Emotional Disorders by Comorbidity and Current Disorder

Foremost cross‐sectional studies of personality in common mental disorders show similar Big Five trait profiles [i.e. high neuroticism (N), low conscientiousness (C) and low extraversion (E)]. It remains undecided whether this lack of distinct personality profiles is partly due to comorbidity among disorders or contamination by current state. Using data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety, we investigated 1046 participants with panic disorder (PD), social anxiety disorder (SAD) and/or major depressive disorder (MDD) and 474 healthy controls. Personality traits at baseline and two‐year follow‐up were assessed with the NEO‐Five Factor Inventory. The Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to determine the presence of emotional disorders at baseline and at two‐year follow‐up; the Life Chart Interview determined symptom severity in the month prior to baseline and during follow‐up. By analysing pure cases and investigating the effects in remitted cases, PD participants were found to be higher in N, but not lower in E and C than controls. Pure PD participants were also lower in N and higher in E than SAD and MDD participants. Both SAD and MDD participants were characterized by high levels of N and low levels of E, irrespective of comorbidity or current disorder state. Future studies should be more attentive to confounding of personality profiles by comorbidity and state effects. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rates and Correlates of DSM-IV Diagnoses in Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer

Although the presence of psychological distress has been documented in women with breast cancer, previous studies have not established rates of DSM-IV diagnoses in this population, nor have prior investigations compared the utility of diagnostic interviewing vs. symptom checklists to assess distress. DSM-IV diagnoses of anxiety disorders and major depression, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and quality of life were examined in 207 women with newly diagnosed breast cancer. Eighteen percent of breast cancer patients met criteria for a current DSM-IV anxiety or depressive disorder and 54% met criteria for a disorder at some point in their lifetime. These rates are comparable to those found in recent community epidemiological studies (e.g., R. C. Kessler, K. A. McGonagle, S. Zhao, C. B. Nelson, M. Hughes, S. Esheman, et al., 1994). Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value for anxiety and depression symptoms as predictors of DSM disorders were relatively poor. However, after accounting for demographic, treatment, and cancer variables, self-reported anxiety symptoms were significantly related to the presence of an anxiety disorder and self-reported depressive symptoms were significantly related to a diagnosis of a depressive disorder. Symptoms of anxiety and depression contributed significantly and uniquely to physical, medical, and sexual quality of life; DSM-IV diagnoses were not significantly related to quality of life after controlling for symptoms of depression and anxiety. The importance of measuring both symptoms of distress and psychiatric diagnoses in cancer patients and the clinical practice implications of the results are discussed.     

Transactional development of parent personality and child temperament

Stability and change in parental extraversion and neuroticism were studied in transaction with their views of their child's temperament from the age of six months to the age of five‐and‐a‐half years in 109 mother–father–child triads (parent–daughter: n = 61, parent–son: n = 48). While parental traits showed high stability, infants' higher positive affectivity predicted an increase in parental extraversion over 5 years, and infant's higher activity predicted a decrease in parental neuroticism. Parent‐rated temperament showed expected heterotypic continuity. Initially higher parental extraversion predicted an increase in the child's effortful control, and higher parental neuroticism predicted an increase in the child's negative affectivity. The results indicate that parental personality and child temperament develop in transaction promoting change in each other. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A pathway from neuroticism to depression: examining the role of emotion regulation

We examined whether the relation between neuroticism and the severity of depressive symptoms is mediated by emotion regulation. At the same time, we examined whether the type of emotion regulation strategy (maladaptive vs. adaptive) moderates the effects of neuroticism on depression severity. Community participants (N =?533; 235 women and 298 men) completed a set of questionnaires over the Internet. We used structural equation modeling to examine the mediational role of emotion regulation in linking neuroticism and the levels of depressive symptoms. The well-documented relation between neuroticism and depression is mediated by individual differences in the use of different emotion regulation strategies. More specifically, the use of maladaptive forms of emotion regulation, but not reappraisal, fully mediated the association between neuroticism and the severity of depressive symptoms.     

Personality,Leisure Experiences and Happiness

This study explored the relationships among personality, leisure involvement, leisure satisfaction and happiness in a representative sample of Chinese university students (n = 423). We found that (1) extraversion significantly correlated with almost all kinds of leisure involvement, but neuroticism did not correlate with leisure activities at all; (2) extraversion significantly positively correlated with leisure satisfaction while neuroticism significantly negatively correlated with leisure satisfaction; and (3) while extraversion and neuroticism were significant predictors of happiness, leisure satisfaction had its incremental effects after those of personality traits and other domain satisfaction were controlled. Implications of these findings for developing a Chinese psychology of leisure were discussed.     

A longitudinal examination of stress generation in depressive and anxiety disorders

The current study compared two competing theories of the stress generation model of depression (stress causation vs. stress continuation) using interview-based measures of episodic life stress, as well as interpersonal and noninterpersonal chronic life stress. We also expanded on past research by examining anxiety disorders as well as depressive disorders. In addition, we examined the role of neuroticism and extraversion in these relationships. Participants were 627 adolescents enrolled in a two-site, longitudinal study of risk factors for depressive and anxiety disorders. Baseline and follow-up assessments were approximately one year apart. Results supported the stress causation theory for episodic stress generation for anxiety disorders, with neuroticism partially accounting for this relationship. The stress causation theory was also supported for depression, but only for more moderate to severe stressors; neuroticism partially accounted for this relationship as well. Finally, we found evidence for interpersonal and noninterpersonal chronic life stress continuation in both depressive and anxiety disorders. The present findings have implications regarding the specificity of the stress generation model to depressive disorders, as well as variables involved in the stress generation process.     

Individuals high in neuroticism are not more reactive to adverse events

Numerous studies have related neuroticism to negative emotional outcomes of adverse life events, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, the nature of the relationship between neuroticism and post-trauma symptoms is unclear. The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine whether individuals high in neuroticism, relative to low neuroticism individuals, show a larger increase in symptoms after an adverse event. A sample of infantry troops completed questionnaires before deployment to Iraq (n = 214) and about five months (n = 170; 76%) thereafter. The findings showed that, after controlling for an indicator of trauma severity, (a) higher neuroticism individuals reported more PTSD symptoms, depression symptoms, and somatic problems after negative events, and (b) these relationships disappeared after controlling for pre-trauma symptoms. There were no significant differences between individuals high and low in neuroticism in the increase in symptoms from pre to post-trauma. This suggests that individuals high in neuroticism are not more reactive to adverse events.     

Neuroticism and extraversion share genetic and environmental effects with negative and positive mood spillover in a nationally representative sample

Work-family spillover research focuses on how negative and positive moods in one life domain carry over to another. Domain-specific etiologies (e.g., family conflict) are often emphasized to explain spillover. Yet, strong correlations exist between spillover variables of the same emotional valence but originating from different domains, suggesting individual differences in the tendencies to prolong mood-states. The current study (N = 1143 individuals) examined whether these general tendencies are associated with neuroticism and extraversion and how genetic and environmental effects contribute to these associations. Findings revealed that neuroticism and extraversion are related to these tendencies through both genetic and environmental pathways.