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Journal of Peking University (Health Sciences) ›› 2023, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (3): 385-391. doi: 10.19723/j.issn.1671-167X.2023.03.001

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Urban-rural differentials in the relationship between personality traits and changes in depressive symptoms

Ting WANG,Qiao-sheng LI,Hao-ran LIU,Wei-yan JIAN*()   

  1. Department of Health Policy and Management, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing 100191, China
  • Received:2023-02-16 Online:2023-06-18 Published:2023-06-12
  • Contact: Wei-yan JIAN E-mail:jianweiyan@bjmu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    the Major Program of the National Social Science Foundation of China(22 & ZD143)

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Abstract:

Objective: The prevalence of depressive symptoms has become a significant public health issue in China. Research on the relationship between personality traits and changes in depressive symptoms, as well as further exploration of urban-rural differences, not only benefits for the understanding of the prevalence trend of depression in China, but also provides a useful reference for the government to develop personalized mental health prevention strategies. Methods: Based on the data from the China Family Panel Studies in 2018 and 2020, a univariate analysis was conducted on 16 198 Chinese residents aged 18 years and above. Five dimensions of personality traits were conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism and openness. In the study, 16 198 residents were divided into "keep good group", "better group", "worse group" and "keep bad group" according to the changes in depressive symptoms in 2018 and 2020. After controlling for factors, such as gender and education, multinomial Logistic regression analysis was used to examine whether personality traits were associated with changes in depressive symptoms. In addition, we evaluated whether urban-rural and personality traits interacted to influence depressive symptoms. Results: The five dimensions of personality traits were significantly correlated with changes in depressive symptoms. Conscientiousness, extroversion, and agreeableness were negatively associated with depressive symptoms, while neuroticism and openness were positively related. Urban and rural differences moderated the relationship between personality traits and depressive symptoms. Compared with urban residents, rural residents showed stronger correlations between neuroticism (OR=1.14; 95%CI: 1.00-1.30) and the group of depression-recovery, as well as conscientiousness (OR=0.79;95%CI: 0.68-0.93) and the group of persistent-depression. Conclusion: The study finds that personality traits have a significant correlation with changes in depressive symptoms, with certain traits showing a negative or positive relationship. Specifically, higher levels of conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness are associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms, while higher levels of neuroticism and openness are associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. In addition, the study finds that rural residents have a stronger association between their personality traits and persistent or improved depressive symptoms, which highlights the need for tailoring mental health intervention and prevention programs that should take into account personality traits and urban-rural differences in China. By developing targeted strategies that are sensitive to personality differences and geographic disparities, policymakers and mental health professionals can help prevent and reduce the incidence of depressive symptoms, ultimately improving the overall well-being of Chinese adults. Meanwhile, additional studies in independent populations are needed to corroborate the findings of this study.

Key words: Depressive symptoms, Urban-rural differentials, Personality traits, Chinese adults

CLC Number: 

  • R190

Table 1

Sociological-demographic characteristics of the sample"

Characteristics n (%) Rural, n Urban, n P
Gender
  Female 8 178 (50.49) 3 906 4 272 0.077
  Male 8 020 (49.51) 3 942 4 078
Age/years
  18-30 2 338 (14.43) 1 019 1 319 < 0.001
  >30-45 4 512 (27.86) 2 012 2 500
  >45 9 348 (57.71) 4 817 4 531
Marital status
  Married 13 955 (86.15) 6 874 7 081 < 0.001
  Unmarried 2 243 (13.85) 974 1 269
Working status
  Unemployed 3 501 (21.61) 1 216 2 285 < 0.001
  Employed 12 697 (78.39) 6 632 6 065
Education
  Primary school 6 392 (39.46) 4 098 2 294 < 0.001
  Middle school 5 010 (30.93) 2 459 2 551
  High school 3 805 (23.49) 1 139 2 666
  College degree or above 991 (6.12) 152 839
Chronic diseases
  No 13 448 (83.02) 6 478 6 970 0.115
  Yes 2 750 (16.98) 1 370 1 380
Self-evaluated income status
  Low 1 730 (10.68) 826 904 < 0.001
  Low-middle 2 854 (17.62) 1 278 1 576
  Middle 7 860 (48.52) 3 634 4 226
  Middle-high 2 116 (13.06) 1 097 1 019
  High 1 638 (10.12) 1 013 625
Self-reported health status
  Very good 2 124 (13.11) 979 1 145 < 0.001
  Quite good 7 017 (43.32) 3 099 3 918
  Good 2 326 (14.36) 1 120 1 206
  General 2 161 (13.34) 1 192 969
  Bad 2 570 (15.87) 1 458 1 112
Depression status (2018)
  Depression 4 858 (29.99) 2 544 2 314 < 0.001
  Healthy 11 340 (70.01) 5 304 6 036
Depression status (2020)
  Depression 5 495 (33.92) 2 889 2 606 < 0.001
  Healthy 10 703 (66.08) 4 959 5 744
Total 16 198 7 848 8 350

Table 2

Analysis results of risk factors on depression status"

Characteristics Keep good, n Better, n Worse, n Keep bad, n P
Gender
  Female 3 663 1 324 1 639 1 552 < 0.001
  Male 4 676 1 040 1 362 942
Township
  Rural 3 805 1 223 1 499 1 321 < 0.001
  Urban 4 534 1 141 1 502 1 173
Age/years
  18-30 1 260 343 441 294 < 0.001
  >30-45 2 491 630 816 575
  >45 4 588 1 391 1 744 1 625
Marital status
  Married 7 311 2 006 2 595 2 043 < 0.001
  Unmarried 1 028 358 406 451
Working status
  Unemployed 1 701 506 649 645 < 0.001
  Employed 6 638 1 858 2 352 1 849
Education
  Primary school 2 886 1 006 1 274 1 226 < 0.001
  Middle school 2 712 712 907 679
  High school 2 158 509 653 485
  College degree or above 583 137 167 104
Chronic diseases
  No 7 266 1 870 2 468 1 844 < 0.001
  Yes 1 073 494 533 650
Self-evaluated income status
  Low 743 271 363 353 < 0.001
  Low-middle 1 361 433 581 479
  Middle 4 277 1 116 1 367 1 100
  Middle-high 1 153 281 374 308
  High 805 263 316 254
Self-reported health status
  Very good 1 038 318 426 342 < 0.001
  Quite good 3 731 1 049 1 279 958
  Good 1 425 276 412 213
  General 1 323 265 369 204
  Bad 822 456 515 777
Personality traits
  Conscientiousness - - - - < 0.001
  Extraversion - - - - < 0.001
  Openness - - - - < 0.001
  Neuroticism - - - - < 0.001
  Agreeableness - - - - < 0.001
Total 8 339 2 364 3 001 2 494

Table 3

Results of multinominal logistic regression analysis on the relationship between personality traits and changes in depression symptoms"

Characteristics Better Worse Keep bad
ORa 95%CI ORa 95%CI ORa 95%CI
Township (Ref: Urban)
  Rural 1.19*** 1.08-1.31 1.10 1.01-1.21 1.19*** 1.08-1.31
Gender (Ref: Female)
  Male 0.63*** 0.57-0.70 0.67*** 0.61-0.73 0.51*** 0.46-0.56
Age (Ref: 18-30)/years
  30-45 1.20 0.99-1.55 1.01 0.86-1.26 1.49* 1.15-1.92
  > 45 1.18 0.98-1.45 0.82 0.68-1.01 1.36 0.99-1.76
Marital status(Ref: Unmarried)
  Married 1.41*** 1.23-1.62 1.20** 1.05-1.36 1.83*** 1.61-2.09
Work conditions(Ref: Unemployed)
  Employed 1.12 0.99-1.27 1.08 0.96-1.21 1.03 0.92-1.16
Education(Ref: Primary)
  Middle school 0.88* 0.78-0.99 0.84** 0.76-0.94 0.78*** 0.70-0.88
  High school 0.81** 0.70-0.93 0.78*** 0.69-0.88 0.71*** 0.62-0.82
  College degree or above 0.82 0.66-1.03 0.76** 0.61-0.93 0.59*** 0.46-0.76
Chronic diseases(Ref: No)
  Yes 1.39*** 1.22-1.58 1.19** 1.05-1.35 1.40*** 1.24-1.59
Self-evaluated incomestatus (Ref: Low)
  Low-middle 0.92 0.76-1.11 0.89 0.75-1.05 0.85 0.71-1.01
  Middle 0.77** 0.65-0.92 0.69*** 0.59-0.80 0.67*** 0.57-0.78
  Middle-high 0.71*** 0.58-0.87 0.69*** 0.58-0.83 0.67*** 0.55-0.81
  High 0.87 0.70-1.07 0.78* 0.64-0.94 0.66*** 0.54-0.82
Self-reported health status(Ref: Bad)
  Very good 0.65*** 0.54-0.77 0.72*** 0.61-0.85 0.43*** 0.37-0.51
  Quite good 0.61*** 0.52-0.70 0.64*** 0.56-0.74 0.36*** 0.32-0.41
  Good 0.41*** 0.34-0.50 0.54*** 0.46-0.64 0.21*** 0.18-0.26
  General 0.40*** 0.33-0.48 0.51*** 0.43-0.61 0.21*** 0.17-0.25
Personality traits
  Conscientiousness 1.02 0.94-1.11 0.91* 0.84-0.98 0.94 0.86-1.02
  Extraversion 1.01 0.94-1.07 0.99 0.94-1.04 0.90*** 0.85-0.96
  Openness 1.10** 1.03-1.17 1.06* 1.00-1.12 1.18*** 1.11-1.26
  Neuroticism 1.32*** 1.23-1.41 1.24*** 1.16-1.31 1.45*** 1.35-1.57
  Agreeableness 1.03 0.94-1.13 0.89** 0.83-0.96 0.93 0.85-1.01
Constant 0.69* 0.50-0.94 0.94 0.70-1.26 1.27 0.93-1.74

Table 4

Regression results of the interaction effect between urban-rural disparity and personality traits on the changes in depression symptoms"

Characteristics Better Worse Keep bad
ORa 95%CI ORa 95%CI ORa 95%CI
Township
  Rural 1.24*** 1.13-1.36 1.17*** 1.07-1.27 1.30*** 1.19-1.43
Personality traits
  Conscientiousness 1.02 0.91-1.15 0.89* 0.80-0.98 0.98 0.87-1.09
  Extraversion 1.00 0.92-1.09 0.97 0.90-1.05 0.89** 0.82-0.96
  Openness 1.06 0.98-1.16 1.02 0.94-1.10 1.07 0.98-1.17
  Neuroticism 1.28*** 1.17-1.41 1.23*** 1.13-1.34 1.48*** 1.34-1.64
  Agreeableness 1.02 0.90-1.14 0.95 0.86-1.05 0.93 0.83-1.04
  Township × conscientiousness 0.91 0.77-1.08 0.98 0.85-1.13 0.79** 0.68-0.93
  Township × extraversion 1.00 0.89-1.13 1.05 0.94-1.16 1.02 0.91-1.15
  Township × openness 0.92 0.82-1.05 0.94 0.84-1.04 0.92 0.81-1.04
  Township × neuroticism 1.14* 1.00-1.30 1.09 0.96-1.23 1.11 0.96-1.28
  Township × agreeableness 1.07 0.90-1.28 0.90 0.78-1.04 1.10 0.93-1.31
Constant 0.25*** 0.24-0.27 0.34*** 0.32-0.36 0.26*** 0.24-0.28
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