Fourth, if personality is a precursor of, or predisposes to, the development of depressive disorders, it is critical to identify the moderating factors and mediating processes involved in these pathways. There is some evidence suggesting that moderators may include gender, early adversity, and life stress, and mediators may include interpersonal deficits, depressotypic cognitions, maladaptive coping, and behavioral and neurobiological stress reactivity (Klein et al. 2008a). There is a need for more systematic research examining these moderators and mediators in a longitudinal framework.
