Emotion dysregulation, psychological inflexibility, and shame as explanatory factors between neuroticism and depression

Abstract Background The association between neuroticism and depression is well documented. However, neuroticism is a general risk factor associated with many forms of psychopathology, such as anxiety, eating, and personality disorders. Past research has suggested that other factors may mediate the relationship between neuroticism and symptoms of particular disorders. Methods Self-report questionnaires measuring neuroticism, emotion dysregulation, psychological inflexibility, shame, and symptoms of depression were administered to 105 inpatient adolescents (aged 12–17). The current study examined three factors (emotion dysregulation difficulties, psychological inflexibility, and shame) as concurrent mediators of the neuroticism/depression association. Results Neuroticism was significantly associated with depression, as expected. Neuroticism was also associated with emotion dysregulation and psychological inflexibility, which, in combination, fully mediated the association between neuroticism and depression. Shame was not significantly associated with neuroticism or depression, when controlling for anxiety, externalizing, sex, and age. Follow-up analyses examined six sub-factors of emotion dysregulation as multiple mediators of the neuroticism/depression association. Goal directed behavior, lack of emotion regulation strategies, and impulse control were significant mediators, controlling for the other three emotion dysregulation sub-factors. Limitations The study is limited by the cross sectional design, sample size, and self-report measurement. Conclusions Despite limitations, this study demonstrated that the link between neuroticism and depression is explained by both emotion dysregulation and psychological inflexibility and that specific emotion dysregulation facets may be at play in adolescent depression.