The majority of established risk factors for depressive disorders are either immutable (e.g., demographic characteristics, family history) or predict onset only in the short term (e.g., stressful life events). In contrast, personality is at least somewhat malleable, especially in youth, but may forecast the onset of depression years in advance, which makes traits a potentially attractive means of identifying individuals at risk and informing selection of interventions. Different trait-disorder pathways would point to different preventive strategies; hence, further research on the nature of personality-depression relations can significantly facilitate development of preventive interventions. Another advantage of traits is that they can be assessed relatively easily and efficiently and thus are ideal for screening.
