Independent of the traditional personality field, clinical researchers have developed a number of trait-like constructs to describe dispositions to depression. These clinical traits are similar in scope to personality facets, and their stability is comparable to that of a typical personality dimension (e.g., Kasch et al. 2001, Zuroff et al. 2004). Also, factor analytic studies have shown that most of these clinical traits can be successfully incorporated in the personality taxonomy as components of neuroticism (Watson et al. 2006). Next, we briefly discuss three of the most studied constructs: ruminative response style, self-criticism, and dependency.
