title: The Relationship between Personality and Depression in Expectant Parents.
abstract: Several studies assessed the relationship between depression and dimensions of temperament/character using the Cloninger's model of personality and the TCI-R. The aim of this study is clarify the relation between depression and personality in men and women who are expecting a baby. The Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised Form and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered to 65 pregnant women and 37 husbands during the last quarter of pregnancy. ANOVAs showed that pregnant women had higher levels of depression, reward dependence, and self-transcendence than the expectant fathers. Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis in the pregnant women group showed that harm avoidance and self-directedness were significant predictors of the level of depression. In the expectant fathers, only self-directedness was a significant predictor of depression. Low TCI-R self-directedness is a strong predictor of depression in expectant parents during pregnancy regardless of gender, and high TCI-R harm avoidance is an additional predictor of depression in expectant mothers.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Unit, Beck Institute, Via Gioberti 54, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Elda
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Andriola
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Trani
authors.forename: Annarita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Donfrancesco