Abstract

The expression of an individual is made up of many things including their cultural orientation, personality characteristics, and how they interact with depression and anxiety. The aim of the study was to examine the relationships that these variables share using a mediation analysis. I hypothesized that the relationship between personality and psychopathology would be mediated by cultural orientation. I predicted that individualism and collectivism would separately mediate the relationship that personality traits share with depression and anxiety. A total of 66 undergraduate students at the College of Wooster were asked to complete four surveys including the BFI-2, BAI, BDI, Horizontal-Vertical Individualism/Collectivism Scale. Results confirmed hypothesis and prediction and indicated that a mediation effect did occur between both individualism and collectivism for agreeableness. Both collectivism and individualism mediated the negative and significant relationship between agreeableness and depression. The aim of the study was met here because both variables of cultural orientation did change the way agreeableness and depression interacted, but implications of this findings support past suggestions that agreeableness captures some aspects of culture. Therefore, the interpretation of the role agreeableness plays when acting upon culture and depression should be taken with caution with possible interchangeability. The unexpected results were that neuroticism acted as a mediator of the way individualism predicted both depression and anxiety. Although surprising, these results confirmed my suspicion that the way these three variables interact cannot be interpreted in one direction because the nature of these components is individualized. In this case it was a personality trait that acted upon cultural orientation and depression as well as anxiety. Understandings the direction of these individual relationships has implications for reducing researcher bias and providing better clinical outcomes for depression and anxiety. Future research should explore the results of the multiple regression analysis in which N was strongly related enough to anxiety and depression to eliminate the significance of both individualism and agreeableness to anxiety and depression. It should also explore agreeableness as being the first personality trait to have a significant relationship to both individualism and collectivism. Cultural orientation should be accounted for in the future to provide a better understanding of the complex interactions that make up a person.

Advisor

Foster, Nathan

Department

Psychology

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Publication Date

2023

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2023 Monica S. Watkins