Purpose: To examine whether personality traits specifically act with
dysfunctional parenting or other family adversities on the development of
depressive symptoms among female adolescents.
Methods: A total of 1207 female adolescents aged 15 to 18 from two
comprehensive high schools in Taichung County, Taiwan were recruited for this
study. A series of multivariable regression analyses were conducted to examine
the mediational effect of personality traits between family factors and depressive
symptoms.
Main Findings: After controlling for grade and academic performance,
dysfunctional parenting, family dysfunctioning, poor family economic status, and
all personality traits were significantly associated with depressive symptoms,
but each accounted for only a small variation (< 8%) except for neuroticism
(47%). Neuroticism acted as a mediator between family adversities and female
depressive symptoms since effects of family adversities were substantially
attenuated, although remained significant, when taking it into account in the
multivariable models. However, those effects stayed similar when psychoticism
and extroversion were individually put into the models, indicating both personality
traits provided another pathway for family adversities to depressive symptoms in
addition to their direct relationships.
Conclusion: This study suggests that female adolescents with high scores
of some personality types are at an increased risk of developing depressive
symptoms in response to a variety of family adversities, though each personality
plays a different role in the relationship. Intervention programs that incorporate
both personal characteristics and family systems may be of benefit in alleviating
the adverse effects of some types of personality traits and negative family
factors on depressive symptoms in female adolescents.
