Cross-Sectional and Prospective Relationships Between Neuroticism and Depressive Symptoms Among College Students: The Mediating Role of Loneliness

High levels of neuroticism are associated with an increased risk of depression. The mechanisms for this association are still unclear. This study investigated loneliness, a pervasive negative human emotion linked to depressive symptoms, as a potential mediator. Data were collected from 739 college students (71.6% females; mean age = 18.47, SD = .87) at two times points through 3 years. Self-report questionnaires were administered to assess neuroticism, loneliness, and depressive symptoms. Cross-sectional analyses of the baseline data suggested that loneliness mediates the association between neuroticism and depressive symptoms. Prospective analyses with two-wave data further prove that baseline neuroticism can predict the changes in depressive symptoms, and changes in loneliness sequentially mediated this association. These findings suggest a possibility of developing interventions for loneliness to interrupt the association between neuroticism and poorer mental health outcomes among college students.

Automated summary

High levels of neuroticism are associated with an increased risk of depression. This study investigated loneliness as a potential mediator for this association. The findings suggest that loneliness mediates the association between neuroticism and depressive symptoms, and interventions targeting loneliness may interrupt this association among college students.