Is Conscientiousness a Proxy for Depression? A study of Big Five Conscientiousness Predictive Power above Depression

Abstract

Is Conscientiousness a proxy for Depression? A study of Big Five Conscientiousness predictive power above depression. Abstracts The literature reveals a relationship between Conscientiousness and Depression. Research illuminating this relationship is lacking. The current study examined the predictive power of Big Five and narrow measures of Conscientiousness over depression in 110 undergraduates using College Grade Point Average (GPA) as the outcome measure. Results showed that Big Five Conscientiousness had little predictive power above Depression and narrow measures of Conscientiousness. This finding suggests that the constructs of Conscientiousness and Depression are not as independent as previously thought. The findings suggest that Conscientiousness might not be related to performance due to work ethic but because individuals high on Conscientiousness are not depressed. Thus, the relationship between Conscientiousness and performance may be better explained because of a lack of depression rather than a strong work ethic. conscientiousness, grit, and perseverance) in this study, this did not translate into a notable correlation between depression and college GPA. This suggests that depression changes the way people respond to self-report conscientiousness measures but does not change performance (i.e., biases our measures). Depression may correlate with having a lower opinion of oneself that is not reflected by actual performance. There are a host of practical implications that can be gleaned from these findings which warrant further research.