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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1460888
This article is part of the Research Topic The Intersection of Psychology, Healthy Behaviors, and its Outcomes View all 42 articles

Big-five personality Traits and Depression: Chain mediation of self-efficacy and walking

Provisionally accepted
Han Cai Han Cai 1*Hongtao Song Hongtao Song 1Yating Yang Yating Yang 1Zihe Xiao Zihe Xiao 2Xianlong Zhang Xianlong Zhang 2Feng Jiang Feng Jiang 3*Huanzhong Liu Huanzhong Liu 1*Yi-lang Tang Yi-lang Tang 4
  • 1 Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Chaohu, Anhui, China
  • 2 Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
  • 3 Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
  • 4 Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Depression is a major global public health concern, with research indicating a correlation between personality traits and depression. This study aimed to explore the potential mediating roles of self-efficacy and walking in the relationship between personality traits and depression among Chinese residents.Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted from July 10 to September 15, 2021, involving 11,031 Chinese residents across 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, and 4 municipalities Participants provided data on demographics, personality traits (using the Ten-Item Personality Inventory), self-efficacy (using the New General Self-Efficacy Scale), chronic disease self-management (using the Chronic Disease Self-Management Study Measures), and depression (using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9). After screening, data from 8,499 participants were analyzed. Sequential mediation models were employed, with the Big Five personality traits as predictors, depression as the outcome, and self-efficacy and walking as the mediators.Results: Extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability were negatively correlated with depression, with self-efficacy and walking as positive mediators in these relationships. Conversely, openness was positively associated with depression, and the self-efficacy-walking chain did not mediate this relationship but rather masked the effect of openness on depression.Our findings suggest that self-efficacy and walking are significant mediators in the relationship between personality traits and depression, potentially mitigating the risk of depressive episodes.

    Keywords: Personality, Depression, self-efficacy, Walking, Mediating effect

    Received: 13 Aug 2024; Accepted: 12 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Cai, Song, Yang, Xiao, Zhang, Jiang, Liu and Tang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Han Cai, Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Chaohu, Anhui, China
    Feng Jiang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, Shanghai Municipality, China
    Huanzhong Liu, Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Chaohu, Anhui, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.