ObjectivesRecent research into the relationship between depression and personality has been dominated by the Big Five model of personality, according to which all personality traits are facets or combinations of five broad factors or domains: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. A meta-analysis by Kotov et al. (2010) showed that patients with depression scored higher than non-clinical samples on Neuroticism, and lower on Extraversion and Conscientiousness, with large differences according to Cohen's d-criteria. No significant differences were found on the Openness and Agreeableness scales. The authors emphasize that these conclusions apply only on the level of the Big Five broad factors, because not enough research has been published relating to specific facets of each factor. However, the few available studies have yielded convergent findings concerning the different facets: Depressive disorder was generally positively associated with Anxiety, Depression, Vulnerability, and Modesty, and negatively associated with Positive Emotions, Openness to actions, Trust, and Self-Discipline, suggesting that it may be linked to at least one facet of each factor. The aim of the present study was to examine whether a similar personality profile can be found in a clinical sample of French patients with major depressive episode, not only in relation to the Big Five factors, but also to the facets. MethodsOur sample consisted of 58 individuals (35 women, 23 men), aged 18 to 58 years (M=41.8, SD=11.3), with a diagnosis of major depressive episode without psychotic features, who attended a psychological assessment in an outpatient department in the Paris area. The majority of participants were single. Fifteen participants reported alcohol and/or other substance dependency, and all were being prescribed anti-depressant medication, with or without mood regulators. Depression severity was assessed using the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and personality traits via the NEO Personality Inventory revised (NEO PI-R). Mean scores of participants were compared with those of the validation sample and expressed as Cohen's ds. Relationships between personality traits and depression were evaluated using Pearson's correlation coefficients. In order to control for the risk of type I error due to the number of tests, α was posited at 0.0016. ResultsPatients scored much higher than the validation sample on Neuroticism and lower on Extraversion and Conscientiousness. Regarding the facets, the patients scored significantly higher than the French validation sample on five out the six facets of Neuroticism: Anxiety, Angry Hostility, Depression, Self-Consciousness, and Vulnerability. They scored lower on three facets of Extraversion (Warmth, Activity, and Positive Emotions), two facets of Openness (Openness to Actions and Openness to Values), one facet of Agreeableness (Trust), and two facets of Conscientiousness (Competence and Self-Discipline). With respect to the “Big Five” domains, there was a high positive correlation between Neuroticism and severity of depression, whilst a medium negative correlation was found between Extraversion and Conscientiousness. For the facets, the BDI-II total score evidenced especially high correlations not only with NEO PI-R Depression and also with Vulnerability, and moderate to high correlations with Angry Hostility and Self-Consciousness. Correlations were negative, and moderate to high, between BDI-II total score and the Competence and Self-Discipline facets of Conscientiousness. After correcting for multiple comparisons, no correlations between BDI-II total score and any facet of Extraversion, Openness or Agreeableness remained significant. DiscussionOur findings confirmed the personality profile for depression suggested by Kotov et al. (2010) in their meta-analysis. Moreover, for the facets, we found significant differences between depressed participants and the French validation sample on at least one facet of every Big Five factor. These findings are largely comparable to the literature in this area, although differences on the facets of Openness and Agreeableness were not exactly those that were expected. The correlation analyses additionally suggested that, for the Big Five domains as well as for the facets, there is a continuous linear association between severity of depression and Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, but not Extraversion, Openness, or Agreeableness. These associations are mainly related to four facets of Neuroticism (Angry Hostility, Depression, Self-Consciousness, and Vulnerability) and two facets of Conscientiousness (Competence and Self-Discipline). As this study was cross-sectional, it does not enable conclusions as to whether this profile was present before the onset of the depressive episode or appeared afterwards. However, it is suggested, on the basis of the literature, that this profile could be premorbid and thereafter accentuated by the acute depression. ConclusionsWhatever the answer to this question, we can assume that current depressive episode is strongly associated with a specific personality profile, including not only Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness, but also two facets of Openness to Experience (Openness to Actions and Openness to Values) and one facet of Agreeableness (Trust).
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Jul 5, 2024
Rachel S Herz + 2
Open Access