An investigation of vulnerability factors for depression

Previous studies have found that difficulty accepting the past mediates the predictive relationship between depression and socially prescribed perfectionism. This relationship inspired the present study to examine relations between a variety of personality traits - shame, anxiety, perfectionism and difficulty accepting the past - which pose as vulnerability factors for depressive symptoms. A single multi-faceted questionnaire was administered to 163 university students and 119 general public participants. Supporting predictions, socially prescribed perfectionism yielded a weaker relationship with depression than did anxiety, shame, and accepting the past.