How Five-Factor Personality Traits Affect Psychological Distress and Depression? Results From a Large Population-Based Study Publisher



Nouri F^{1, 2} ; Feizi A^{2, 3, 5} ; Afshar H^{3, 4} ; Hassanzadeh Keshteli A^{5, 6} ; Adibi P^{5, 7}
Source: Psychological Studies Published:2019

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore the association of five factors personality traits, as predictor variables, with the depression and psychological distress as joint-dependent variables in an Iranian general population. NEO-big five, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) were used for collecting data regarding personality traits and psychological problems from 3177 participants in a cross-sectional population-based study. Our findings showed that higher neuroticism scores increase the risk of psychological distress and depression score (p < 0.05). Participants with higher extraversion scores experienced lower levels of depression and lower risk of psychological distress (p < 0.05). Furthermore, higher scores of conscientiousness significantly increase, while agreeableness decreases the scores of psychological distress (p < 0.05). It is suggested to perform longitudinal studies focusing on both genetic and environmental factors on the relationships between personality and psychological disorders. © 2019, National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) India.