Although depression is a common outcome following the traumatic stress of domestic violence (DV), not all women who are abused develop depressive symptoms. One factor that may moderate the development of depressive symptoms after traumatic events is personality traits, although this has not been assessed with DV specifically. This study examines the moderating influence of four five-factor personality traits (agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism) on depressive symptoms following exposure to DV. Data on personality traits, depressive symptoms, and DV were gathered from a community sample of women (N = 165) as part of a 10-year longitudinal study on DV. It was hypothesized that these traits would exert main and moderating effects on depressive symptoms within the context of DV. A series of hierarchical linear regressions indicated that although agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism had significant main effects on depressive symptoms, and both extraversion and neuroticism moderated the effect of DV on depressive symptoms, the main effects of all traits but neuroticism became insignificant and the moderating effects of both extraversion and neuroticism remained significant when other personality traits were co-varied. The function of neuroticism and extraversion as vulnerability and protective factors has implications for the treatment of depressive symptoms following DV exposure. Future directions for research are also discussed.
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