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The relationship of neuroticism and extraversion to symptoms of anxiety and depression in the general population
Author(s) -
Jylhä Pekka,
Isometsä Erkki
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.20167
Subject(s) - neuroticism , extraversion and introversion , beck anxiety inventory , anxiety , psychiatry , psychology , population , beck depression inventory , depression (economics) , clinical psychology , personality , mental health , eysenck personality questionnaire , big five personality traits , medicine , social psychology , environmental health , macroeconomics , economics
Few studies have investigated the relationship of the personality dimensions of neuroticism and extraversion to the symptoms of depression and anxiety in the general population. A random general population sample (ages 20–70 years), from two Finnish cities was surveyed with the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). In addition, questions regarding diagnosed lifetime mental disorders, health care use for psychiatric reasons in the past 12 months, and history of mental disorders in first‐degree relatives were posed. Among the 441 subjects who participated, neuroticism correlated strongly with symptoms of depression ( r s =.71, P <.001) and anxiety ( r s =.69, P <.001), and somewhat with selfreported lifetime mental disorder ( r s =.30, P <.001) and health care use for psychiatric reasons in the past 12 months ( r s =.24, P <.001). Extraversion correlated negatively with symptoms of depression ( r s =−.47, P <.001), anxiety ( r s =−.36, P <.001), selfreported lifetime mental disorder ( r s =−.17, P <.001), and health care use for psychiatric reasons in the past 12 months ( r s =−.14, P =.004). In multiple regression models, even after adjusting for gender, age, and education, BDI scores were significantly associated with neuroticism, extraversion, and age, whereas BAI scores were associated only with neuroticism. Neuroticism is strongly associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms, and intraversion is moderately associated with depressive symptoms in the urban general population. The relationship of these personality dimensions to both selfreported lifetime mental disorders and use of health services for psychiatric reasons strengthens the clinical validity of these personality dimensions. Depression and Anxiety 23:281–289, 2006. © 2006 WileyLiss, Inc.