Age differences in temperament, character and depressive mood: a cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Gerontology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Age-related changes in personality traits are not fully understood.
• Cloninger's personality taxonomy provides a framework for examining temperament and character.
• The relationship between personality and depression across the adult lifespan warrants further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine age-related mean-level changes in Cloninger's personality traits.
• To determine the predictive relevance of personality traits for depression levels in adults.
• To analyze these relationships across a wide age range (18-94 years).

Main Methods:

• A sample of 466 adults was divided into four age groups.
• Personality was assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI).
• Depression levels were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).

Main Results:

• Significant mean-level changes were observed for most personality traits, except Self-Directedness (Self-D).
• Novelty seeking decreased with age, while self-transcendence increased in older adults.
• Harm avoidance was highest in the youngest and oldest groups; depression correlated positively with harm avoidance and age.

Conclusions:

• Personality evolves throughout adulthood, with decreases in novelty seeking and increases in self-transcendence.
• Harm avoidance and self-transcendence emerged as significant predictors of depression.
• Fearfulness and social inhibition characterize both young and elderly adults.