Five-Factor Personality Traits in Depression and Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder: A Comparative Study

Description

Kavisha Shah and Kamayani Mathur (Department of Psychology, School of Psychology, Education and Philosophy, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat)

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are among the most common and disabling mental health conditions. Personality traits, particularly those described by the Five-Factor Model (FFM), have been linked to internalizing psychopathology. However, comparative research on these traits in Indian clinical populations remains limited. The present study aimed to compare five core personality traits, namely Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness and Neuroticism, among individuals diagnosed with MDD (n=35), individuals with OCD (n=32), and healthy controls (HC) (n=32). Participants between the ages of 18 to 60 were selected using purposive sampling technique. Clinical participants were selected from psychiatric outpatient departments, while healthy participants were selected from the general community. Personality traits were assessed using Five Personality Trait Inventory (Misra, 2020). Group differences across personality traits were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post hoc tests. Results showed significant group differences in Conscientiousness and Neuroticism. The MDD group scored lower in Conscientiousness compared to both the OCD and HC groups, while both clinical groups scored higher in Neuroticism than healthy controls. No significant differences were observed for Openness, Extraversion, or Agreeableness. These findings suggest that Neuroticism may be a shared vulnerability across internalizing disorders, while lower Conscientiousness may be more specific to depression.