The importance of personality and life-events in anxious depression: from trait to state anxiety

Figures & data

Table 1. Patient characteristics for those with and without any life-event(s) in past year.

	Presence of life-events in last year
Characteristics	No (n = 186)	Yes (n = 147)	Statistics
Demographics:
• Mean (SD) age (years)	71.1 (7.2)	69.9 (7.4)	t = 1.5, df = 331, p = .137
• Female sex, n (%)	118 (63.4)	102 (69.4)	X^2 = 1.3, df = 1, p = .255
• Mean (SD) level of education (years)	10.2 (3.4)	10.5 (3.5)	t = −0.70, df = 331, p = .484
Life-events:
• Median (IQR) number of life-events	–	1 (58)	Not applicable
Psychopathology:
• Mean (SD) anxiety level (BAI)	16.8 (11.2)	18.6 (12.0)	t = −1.4, df = 331, p = .160
• Mean (SD) depression severity (IDS)	29.8 (12.7)	30.9 (13.4)	t = −0.8, df = 329, p = .440
Personality:
Mean (SD) neuroticism	39.1 (7.3)	39.1 (6.6)	t = 0.01, df = 330, p = .996
Mean (SD) extraversion	33.3 (6.2)	34.1 (7.0)	t = −1.1, df = 329, p = .268
Mean (SD) openness	29.1 (5.2)	29.4 (5.6)	t = −0.6, df = 327, p = .583
Mean (SD) agreeableness	43.8 (5.0)	44.4 (5.4)	t = −1.1, df = 328, p = .288
Mean (SD) conscientiousness	36.3 (5.8)	36.8 (5.4)	t = −0.8, df = 329, p = .404
Mean (SD) mastery	15.2 (3.3)	15.3 (3.0)	t = −0.3, df = 324, p = .777

Note: Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; IQR, interquartile range.

Table 2. Associations of personality domains and level of anxiety (dependent variable) by linear regression^a stratified by presence of life-event(s) in case of significant interaction with the personality trait under study.

	Stratified sample by presence of life-event(s)^b
	No life-event (n = 183)			Any life-event (n = 145)
Personality characteristics	B (SE)	Beta	p	B (SE)	Beta	p
Big-5 personality traits
• Neuroticism	0.41 (0.13)	.27	.001	0.65 (0.13)	.36	<.001
○ Self-reproach	0.51 (0.17)	.24	.003	0.76 (0.17)	.31	<.001
• Openness	−0.27 (0.15)	−.13	.069	−0.01 (0.16)	−.01	.964
• Conscientiousness	−0.04 (0.13)	−.02	.775	−0.34 (0.15)	−.15	.026
Sense of mastery
• Pearlin Mastery Scale	0.75 (0.26)	.22	.005	1.11 (0.29)	.28	<.001

Note: ^aAdjusted for age, sex, level of education (years) and severity of depression (IDS-SR sum score).

^bStratified analyses by presence of life-event(s) only reported in case of a significant interaction term between life-event (no/any) and the personality trait.

Table 3. Associations of the dichotomized personality traits and level of anxiety (dependent variable) by linear regression^a with the presence of life-event(s) continuously and stratified in case of significant interaction with the personality trait under study.

	Stratified sample by Big-5 personality traits (high/low)^b
	B (SE)	Beta	p	B (SE)	Beta	p
	Neuroticism
	Low (n = 173)			High (n = 156)
Live-events (yes/no)	−0.86 (1.32)	−.05	.517	4.52 (1.62)	.19	.006
Live-events (continuously)	−0.72 (0.64)	−.08	.261	2.00 (0.86)	.16	.021
	Self-reproach (facet of neuroticism)
	Low (n = 177)			High (n = 152)
Live-events (yes/no)	3.15 (1.60)	.14	.051	1.40 (0.81)	.12	.089
Live-events (continuously)	0.49 (1.34)	.03	.713	−0.39 (0.67)	−.04	.557
	Openness
	Low (n = 176)			High (n = 153)
Live-events (yes/no)	0.15 (1.46)	.01	.919	2.87 (1.51)	.14	.060
Live-events (continuously)	0.26 (0.84)	.02	.756	0.22 (0.68)	.02	.746
	Conscientiousness
	Low (n = 181)			High (n = 148)
Live-events (yes/no)	3.66 (1.46)	.15	.013	−0.85 (1.47)	−.04	.564
Live-events (continuously)	0.66 (0.72)	.06	.359	−0.41 (0.78)	−.04	.601
	Sense of mastery
	Low (n = 121)			High (n = 208)
Live-events (yes/no)	0.50 (1.26)	.02	.694	2.95 (1.82)	.13	.108
Live-events (continuously)	−0.16 (0.69)	−.01	.820	0.59 (0.82)	.06	.475

Note: ^aAdjusted for age, sex, level of education (years) and severity of depression (IDS-SR sum score).

^bThose personality traits that showed significant interaction with life-event.

Figure 1. Graphs of the analyses where both recent life-events and the personality traits are dichotomized.