Perceived Stress as a Mediator of the Relationship between Neuroticism and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms

Although major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the main causes of global disease burden, there is little evidence about the association between personality traits and depressive symptoms in Latin America. The aim of this study was to examine the possibility that perceived stress might be a mediator of the association between neuroticism and depressive and anxious symptoms. Two hundred seventy four Colombian subjects (mean age 21.3years) were evaluated with the short version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI-S), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (ZSAS) and the Perceived Stress Scale-10. Both neuroticism and perceived stress were significantly correlated with higher scores in depressive and anxious symptoms (p<0.01). Perceived stress was a significant mediator of the relationship between neurotic trait and depressive and anxious symptoms. Our results are one of the first descriptions of the role of perceived stress as a mediator of the association between neuroticism and psychological distress. These findings are of particular importance, in the context of the need for more evidence about the psychosocial risk factors for MDD in Latin America.