Dysfunctional Parenting and Family Adversities in Association with Depressive Symptoms in Female Adolescents: The Roles of Personality Traits

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.