Your personality and your temperament may play a role in whether or not you develop a depressive disorder. Researchers in a study conducted at the University of Washington were interested in whether there would be a recurrence of depressive symptoms in patients who had recovered from major depression. Does having had depression predispose you to having it again?

They followed 78 patients during the two year study and found that 34 participants in the study (44 percent) suffered relapses. The scientists reasoned that if they could identify the risk factors involved in a recurrence they might discover that those same factors might play a significant role in developing depressive disorders in the first place.

So they looked at what characteristics those 34 individuals shared and found some common traits:

• Aggressiveness manifested in distrust and hostility toward others

• Low levels of dependency on others

• Lower levels of pleasure derived from recreational activities

These are the personality traits, they decided, that may put you at risk for depression. It goes deeper than personality, however. Researchers are now studying whether these traits are linked to genetics. So, if you are morose, gloomy, negative, hostile, or aggressive, you may indeed have a depressive personality, and you might be able to blame it on your genes.