The Impact of Personality on Depression among University Students in Taiwan

Background: Depression in Taiwanese university students is a significant problem in termsof life and financial costs. The purpose of this study was to examine theimpact of four selected personality traits, namely interpersonal problems,ideas of being persecuted, social students in introversion, and self depreciation, on the inclination to be depressed among students in Taiwanese university.Methods: A self-report survey was administered to students at a Taiwanese universityand consisted of three parts: demographics, the Chinese version of the BasicPersonality Inventory (BPI), and the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire.The level of depression among students was assessed, and the relationshipsamong the various variables were explored using analysis of variance(ANOVA) and regression.Results: Altogether, 255 students successfully completed the survey. Overall, 37.62%of students were suffering from depression, including 4.7% who indicatedthat they were severely depressed, 18.30% who were moderately depressed,and 14% who were mildly depressed. In a multiple-regression model, ideasof being persecuted and self depreciation were both significant when predicting an inclination to be depressed.Conclusion: D e p r e s s i o n i s a p r o b l e m f o r m a n y u n i v e r s i t y s t u d e n t s i n Ta i w a n .Un d e r s t a n d i n g wh i c h p e r s o n a l i t y t r a i t s a r e r e l a t e d t o d e p r e s s i o n i nTaiwanese students is important for student affair administrators and medicalprofessionals and will help them to prevent and treat this debilitating illness.