RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND DEPRESSION

Present study was administered to search out the relationship between big five personality traits and depression. Data was received from students at University of Peshawar through the administration of the instruments Big Five personality Inventory (BFI; John et al., 1991) to determine personality traits and Beck Depression Inventory – II (BDI – II; Beck et al., 1996) to determine depression respectively. Data was collected from a sample of 400 students based on equal representation of males and females (male, n = 200, female, n = 200). The results revealed that neuroticism and conscientiousness (sub dimensions of big five personality inventory) were significant predictors of depression among university students meanwhile extraversion and openness to experience (sub-dimensions of big five personality inventory) were non predictors of depression among them. It is imperative to understand the connection that exists between personality traits and depression provided that the personality variables in individuals can lead to determining the incidence of depressive symptoms in them. If such personality traits are identified, they can be cues towards predicting and treating depression among masses in addition to designing therapeutic interventions to deal with its occurrence.