Correspondence between depressive symptomatology and personality traits in a sample of high school students

Summary Objective According to literature, personality seems related to depressive symptomatology in children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to analyse the presence of a specific personality profile related to depressive state in a sample of healthy adolescents. Methods The tests Depressive State Survey (DSS 1) and 16PF-5 were administered to a sample of high school students in Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany, Italy. Sample was composed by 55 males (mean age = 17.93 ± 0.66) and 61 females (mean age = 17.67 ± 0.65). Spearman’s rho correlation between the factorial scale of Depressive State Survey (DSS) and those of the 16PF-5 was calculated. Results A correlation between personality traits and depressive state was shown, in particular, the presence of a specific personality profile related to the presence of depressive symptomatology in apparently healthy adolescents. Conclusions During the clinical assessment in the adolescence, specific personality and symptomatological variables must be taken into account because these issues can complicate the clinical picture as lead to make incorrect categorial diagnosis with the only DSM IV-TR. Key words Depressive symptoms • Personality • Adolescence