A variety of models of the relation between personality and mood disorders have been proposed (e.g., Akiskal et al. 1983, M.H. Klein et al. 1993, Krueger & Tackett 2003). These proposed relations include: (a) personality and depressive disorders have common causes; (b) personality and depressive disorders form a continuous spectrum; (c) personality is a precursor of depressive disorders; (d) personality predisposes to developing depressive disorders; (e) personality has pathoplastic effects on depression; (f) personality features are state-dependent concomitants of depressive episodes; and (g) personality features are consequences (or scars) of depressive episodes. The distinctions between some of these accounts are subtle (cf. Kendler & Neale 2010), and other models, as well as combinations of these scenarios, are plausible. However, these seven models provide a useful conceptual framework for approaching the issue.
