title: Temperament and depressive symptoms: what is the direction of the association?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Temperament characteristics have been suggested to be associated with mental health outcomes, especially depression, but the direction of the association is unknown. In this study, we tested whether temperament characteristics, as defined by the Buss-Plomin adulthood emotionality-activity-sociability (EAS) temperament model, predict depressive symptoms or whether depressive symptoms predict changes in temperament characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants comprised a population-based sample of 719 men and 1020 women from the Young Finns study aged 20-35 years at baseline in 1997 and who responded to repeated surveys of temperament and depressive symptoms in four study phases from 1997 to 2012. The associations were tested using linear regression models, repeated cross-lagged structural equation models, parallel latent growth curve models and two-dimensional continuous-time state space model (Exact Discrete Model).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both low sociability (β=-0.12, p<0.001) and high negative emotionality (β=0.34, p<0.001) predicted subsequent increased depressive symptoms, whereas earlier depressive symptoms predicted increased negative emotionality (β=0.50, p<0.001), but not low sociability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The depressive symptoms scale applied may not be used for measuring clinically recognized depression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that the direction of the association is from low sociability to depressive symptoms rather than the reverse, but the association between negative emotionality and depressive symptoms seems to be reciprocal.
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: marko.elovainio@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Marko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elovainio
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jokela
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rosenström
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pulkki-Råbäck
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hakulinen
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Josefsson
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Mirka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hintsanen
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Taina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hintsa
authors.affiliation: University of Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Olli T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Raitakari
authors.affiliation: University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Liisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Keltikangas-Järvinen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D012919:Social Behavior; D013694:Temperament; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cross-lagged modeling; EAS; Mental disorders; Prospective study; Temperament