The Relationship Between the Big-Five Personality Traits and Depressive Symptoms: A Meta-Analysis
Abstract
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders worldwide. While multiple etiological factors contribute to depressive symptoms, personality traits have been hypothesized to play a crucial role. To determine the strengths of this association and provide a new approach compared to prior meta-analyses, we conducted a set of meta-analyses to examine the association of the Big-Five personality traits as the most widely accepted personality model and depressive symptoms. We also examined the effects of the facets of each personality dimension in addition to the effects of the moderating variables, including the proportion of females and the type of depression measures, to address the heterogeneity problem of depressive symptoms. A total of two hundred forty-three studies with correlations between personality and depressive symptoms from 2000 to 2022 were included. Depressive symptoms showed a significant positive correlation with Neuroticism and a significant negative correlation with Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness. None of the moderators were found to be significant. While the analyses at the facet level provided valuable information, they should be explored further in the future.