Gender and personality influences in adolescent threat and challenge appraisals and depressive symptoms

This study aims to extend Gallagher (1990)'s research on students' personality traits of neuroticism (N) and extraversion (E) and their academic work appraisals using a diathesis-stress model of depression and an adolescent sample. An anonymous survey was conducted with 323 (120 male and 203 female) public secondary school students from Canberra, Australia. As expected, the study found that a higher level of N was associated with a greater amount of threat appraisal and a higher level of depressive symptoms, while a higher level of E was associated with a greater amount of challenge appraisal and a lower level of depressive symptoms. Regression analysis revealed N as the strongest predictor of depressive symptoms, followed by threat and challenge appraisals. The effect of gender on depressive symptoms disappeared when individuals' neuroticism was taken into account. Challenge appraisal was found to mediate the effect of E on depression, although threat appraisal did not mediate the effect of N on depressive symptoms. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.