Neuroticism and Common Mental Disorders: Meaning and Utility of a Complex Relationship

By Johan Ormel, Bertus F. Jeronimus, R. Kotov, Harriëtte Riese, Elisabeth H. Bos, Benjamin L. Hankin, J. Rosmalen, A. Oldehinkel. Clinical Psychology Review, 2013

656 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Neuroticism's prospective association with common mental disorders (CMDs) has fueled the assumption that neuroticism is an independent etiologically informative risk factor. This vulnerability model postulates that neuroticism sets in motion processes that lead to CMDs. However, four other models seek to explain the association, including the spectrum model (manifestations of the same process), common cause model (shared determinants), state and scar models (CMD episode adds temporary / permanent neuroticism). To examine their validity we reviewed literature on confounding, operational overlap, stability and change, determinants, and treatment effects. None of the models is able to account for (virtually) all findings. The state and scar model cannot explain the prospective association. The spectrum model has some relevance, especially for internalizing disorders. Common causes are most important but the vulnerability model cannot be excluded although confounding of the prospective association by baseline symptoms and psychiatric history is substantial. In fact, some of the findings, such as interactions with stress and the small decay of neuroticism's effect over time, are consistent with the vulnerability model. We describe research designs that discriminate the remaining models and plea for deconstruction of neuroticism. Neuroticism is etiologically not informative yet but useful as an efficient marker of non-specified general risk.

Subfields: Clinical Psychology, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/13e9fdc826e16ac37d386a54abc83e29acb52f80

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Citations in the corpus

Old Wine in New Bottles? The Case of Self–Compassion and Neuroticism (2017, methodology): “Here, Model 4 had a slightly higher value than Model Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology Eur.”
Longitudinal Experience–Wide Association Studies—A Framework for Studying Personality Change (2020, background): “…have been associated with increases in stress, negative life events, and mental health problems (Luo, Derringer, Briley, & Roberts, 2017; Ormel et al., 2013), whereas increasing levels of conscientiousness and decreasing levels of neuroticism predicted improved physical (Chow & Roberts,…”
DSM-5 and the Path Toward Empirically Based and Clinically Useful Conceptualization of Personality and Psychopathology (2014, neutral): “For example, due to its strong link to common mental disorders, particular attention has been paid to neuroticism/negative affect (Lahey, 2009; Ormel et al., 2013), and research has shown that neuroticism is predictive of the future development (i.e., first episode) of various mental disorders,…”
All for one and one for all: Mental disorders in one dimension (2018, background): “But it is still not clear whether neuroticism is a cause or perhaps is better regarded as amarker of nonspecific general risk for psychopathology (45).”