Ricerc@Sapienza

Internalizing problems (such as depression) represent an important risk especially during adolescence, because it is a period with many developmental demands, changes and tasks to achieve (Steinberg & Morris, 2001; Zahn-Waxler et al, 2000). Previous studies showed associations between specific personality profiles (e.g. Overcontrolled or Vulnerable) and anxiety or depression (Akse et al, 2007a, 2007b; De Clerq et al, 2012), but few studies have focused on the relations between personality profiles and the developmental trajectories of depression.
The proposed study aims to examine: personality profiles in pre-adolescence based on the Big Five Traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Openess; McCrae and Costa, 1995); relations between trajectory of Affective Problems (i.e. the DSM-Oriented subscale that assess depressive symptoms in the ASEBA system; Achenbach, 1991) during adolescence and personality profiles, controlling for gender.
We propose to use a sample of Italian adolescents drawn from an existing longitudinal study.
We expect to find four personality profiles: a Resilient profile, high on all traits; a Moderate, average on all traits; a Vulnerable, low on all traits; and an Undercontrolled, low on Conscientiousness and Emotional Stability, high on Extraversion. In addition, we expect to confirm the specific relations between different profiles and the trajectory of depression during adolescence. In particular, we hypothesize that a maladjusted profile can be associated with a higher trend of depression, whereas an adjusted profile can be negatively associated with this trend.