Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T06:58:20.420Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Neuroticism and psychological distress: To what extent is their association due to person-environment correlation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

G.B. Ploubidis  and
S. Frangou
G.B. Ploubidis*
Affiliation:
Centre for Population Studies, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, United Kingdom
S. Frangou
Affiliation:
Section of Neurobiology of Psychosis, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College of London, London, United Kingdom
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address: George.Ploubidis@LSHTM.ac.uk (G.B. Ploubidis).
Get access

Abstract

Objective

To examine to what extent the association between neuroticism and psychological distress is related to individuals’ inherent vulnerability or their tendency to self-select high-risk environments or situations.

Method

Data was drawn from both waves (1984/1985 and 1991) of the Health and Lifestyle Survey. Psychological distress was evaluated using the 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30) and neuroticism was assessed with the Eysenck Personality Inventory. A checklist of life events was completed in the second wave only. A Latent State Trait model was estimated to decompose psychological distress into its environmental-contextual and individual-specific components.

Results

Neuroticism accounted for 31 and 10% respectively of the variance of the environmental-contextual and individual-specific psychological distress components.

Conclusions

Our results favour the notion that individuals with high-levels of neuroticism tend to self-select situations likely to lead to adversity and distress.

Keywords

Psychological distressNeuroticismPerson-environment correlation
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 1 - 5
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aggen, SHNeale, MCKendler, KSDSM criteria for major depression: evaluating symptom patterns using latent-trait item response models. Psychol Med 2005; 35(4): 475–487.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, BDHuppert, FAWhichelow, MThe health and lifestyle survey: Seven years on. Dartmouth: Aldershot: 1993.Google Scholar
Duggan, CSham, PLee, AMinne, CMurray, RNeuroticism: a vulnerability marker for depression evidence from a family study. J Affect Disord 1995; 35(3): 139–143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eid, MHappiness and Satisfaction: An application of Latent State-Trait Model for Ordinal Variables. In: Rost, JLangeheine, R editors. Applications of Latent Trait and Latent Class Models in the Social Sciences. Berlin: Waxmann; 1997.Google Scholar
Eid, MSchneider, CSchwenkmezger, PDo you feel better or worse? The validity of perceived deviations of mood states from mood traits. Eur J Pers 1999; 13(4): 283–306.3.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eysenck, HEysenck, SManual of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. London: Hodder & Stoughton: 1975.Google Scholar
Goldberg, DVulnerability factors for common mental illnesses. Br J Psychiatry 2001; 178: S69–S71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, DWilliams, PA User's Guide to the General Health Questionnaire GHQ. London: NFER-NELSON: 1991.Google Scholar
Hagemann, DNaumann, EThayer, JFBartussek, DDoes resting electroencephalograph asymmetry reflect a trait? An application of latent state-trait theory. J Pers Soc Psychol 2002; 82(4): 619–641.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KSGardner, CONeale, MCPrescott, CAGenetic risk factors for major depression in men and women: similar or different heritabilities and same or partly distinct genes? Psychol Med 2001; 31(4): 605–616.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KSGardner, COPrescott, CAPersonality and the experience of environmental adversity. Psychol Med 2003; 33(7): 1193–1202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KSKarkowski-Shuman, LStressful life events and genetic liability to major depression: Genetic control of exposure to the environment. Psychol Med 1997; 27(3): 539–547.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendler, KSKarkowski, LMPrescott, CACausal relationship between stressful life events and the onset of major depression. Am J Psychiatry 1999; 156(6): 837–841.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kessler, RCThe effects of stressful life events on depression. Annu Rev Psychol 1997; 48: 191–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kessler, RCMcGonagle, KANelson, CBHughes, MSwartz, MBlazer, DGSex and depression in the National Comorbidity Survey. 2. Cohort effects. J Affect Disord 1994; 30(1): 15–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirschbaum, CSteyer, REid, MPatalla, USchwenkmezger, PHellhammer, DHCortisol and behavior. 2. Application of a latent state-trait model to salivary cortisol. Psychoneuroendocrinology 1990; 15(4): 297–307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krueger, RFCaspi, AMoffitt, TEEpidemiological personology: The unifying role of personality in population-based research on problem behaviors. J Pers 2000; 68(6): 967–998.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lehmann, JWeizman, RLeschiner, SFeldon, JGavish, MPeripheral benzodiazepine receptors reflect trait (early handling) but not state (avoidance learning). Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2002; 73(1): 87–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCrae, RRCosta, PTTerracciano, AParker, WDMills, CJDe Fruyt, Fet al.Personality trait development from age 12 to age 18: Longitudinal, cross-sectional, and cross-cultural analyses. J Pers Soc Psychol 2002; 83(6): 1456–1468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Middeldorp, CMCath, DCBeem, ALWillemsen, GBoomsma, DILife events, anxious depression and personality: a prospective and genetic study. Psychol Med 2008; 38(11): 1557–1565.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mojtabai, ROlfson, MCognitive deficits and the course of major depression in a cohort of middle-aged and older community-dwelling adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 2004; 52(7): 1060–1069.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muthen, BContributions to factor-analysis of dichotomous variables. Psychometrika 1978; 43(4): 551–560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muthen, BA general structural equation model with dichotomous. Ordered categorical, and continuous latent variable indicators. Psychometrika 1984; 49(1): 115–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muthen, BLatent variable structural equation modeling with categorical-data. J Econom 221–21983 4365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mutthen LK, Muthen BO. Mplus User's Guide. 4th ed. Los Angeles, CA; 1998–2007..Google Scholar
Rodgers, BAdult affective-disorder and early environment. Br J Psychiatry 1990; 157: 539–550.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Samejima, FEstimation of latent trait ability using a response pattern of graded scores. Psychom Monogr Suppl 1969 17.Google Scholar
Schmitt, MJSteyer, RA latent state trait model (not only) for social desirability. Pers Individ Differ 1993; 14(4): 519–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shirtcliff, EAGranger, DABooth, AJohnson, DLow salivary cortisol levels and externalizing behavior problems in youth. Dev Psychopathol 2005; 17(1): 167–184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steyer, RLatent state-trait theory. Int J Psychol 273–41992 349.Google Scholar
Steyer, RSchmitt, MEid, MLatent state-trait theory and research in personality and individual differences. Eur J Pers 1999; 13(5): 389–408.3.0.CO;2-A>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Os, JJones, PBEarly risk factors and adult person-environment relationships in affective disorder. Psychol Med 1999; 29(5): 1055–1067.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Os, JPark, SBGJones, PBNeuroticism, life events and mental health: evidence for person-environment correlation. Br J Psychiatry 2001; 178: S72–S77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weissman, MMBland, RCCanino, GJFaravelli, CGreenwald, SHwu, HGet al.Cross-national epidemiology of major depression and bipolar disorder. JAMA 1996; 276(4): 293–299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.