T: Personality traits as risk factors of depression and anxiety among Japanese students

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of personality (tempera-ment and character) on specific depression and specific anxiety. A total of 541 Japanese undergraduates were investigated by using the Tempera-ment and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depres-sion (HAD) scale. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that specific depression was predicted by lower Reward-Dependence, Per-sistence, Self-Directedness, Cooperativeness, and Self-Transcendence; spe-cific anxiety was predicted by higher Novelty-Seeking, Harm-Avoidance, Persistence, and Self-Transcendence, and lower Self-Directedness. Imma-turity of Self-Directedness is a risk factor for negative affectivity. Imma-turity of all character dimensions is a risk factor for specific depression. The relationship between Harm-Avoidance and depression in previous studies may be linked partly to somatic symptoms that were deliberately eliminated in the HAD scale. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psy