Are Big Five personality traits associated with trajectories of depressive symptom among middle-aged and older adults in China?

Background: Personality traits have been confirmed to be associated with mental health, but their influence on the trajectories of depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults in China is not well understood. This study seeks to identify distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms and explore their relationship with the Big Five personality traits in China.

Methods: Data was collected from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) for 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2012 were used in this study. 5376 individuals aged 45 and older were included in this study. Latent growth mixture modeling was applied to identify distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms, and multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the association between personality traits and these trajectories.

Results: Three depressive symptom trajectories were identified: stable increasing with low starting point (53.18%), descending type with high starting point (8.03%), and stable at middle level (38.78%). Higher extraversion scores was associated with lower depressive symptom trajectories, while higher levels of openness and neuroticism were associated with an increased risk of severe depressive symptom trajectories. Heterogeneity analyses revealed that, among individuals aged 45-60, conscientiousness was negatively associated with depressive symptoms, while openness was positively related to depression. Among older adults (≥ 60 years), extraversion showed the strongest protective effect against depressive symptoms, while higher openness demonstrated a notably stronger association with depression. Additionally, females showed stronger associations between personality traits and depressive symptom than males.

Conclusion: Different trajectories of depressive symptoms are observed among middle-aged and older adults in China. The findings underscore the importance of tailored mental health monitoring, with distinct approaches needed for different genders and age groups.