Elalfy Khaled, Farrag Ahmed, Suleiman Aya, Darwish Nour Edin, Elqady Yousef, Esmail Mohamed, Abdelwahed Aya, Wagih Huda, Gallab Marwa
Faculty of Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt.
Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
BMC Psychol. 2025 May 7;13(1):482. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02784-z.
The relationship between maladaptive personality traits and other mental disorders, such as depression, has been underexplored, especially in medical students. Moreover, the prevalence of depression among medical students is greater than that among the general population, increasing their susceptibility to associated psychopathologies. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the relationship between depression and maladaptive personality trait domains on the basis of Criterion B of the DSM-5 Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (DSM-5 AMPD) among medical students while also highlighting relevant sociodemographic factors.
A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to September 2024, with participants surveyed through an online questionnaire. The questionnaire included three sections: sociodemographic characteristics, assessment of depression via the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and maladaptive personality traits via the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form (PID-5-BF). Statistical analysis was conducted in R via various packages for data cleaning, analysis, and visualization, employing descriptive statistics, regression models, correlation analysis, and reliability tests.
A total of 2,203 students participated in this study, with a marginal female dominance of 1,230 (55.8%). The mean (SD) overall maladaptive trait score was 1.11 (0.54), and that for the PHQ-9 was 11.7 (6.0). Statistical analysis revealed that higher depression scores were more strongly associated with females than with males, whereas maladaptive trait scores revealed no significant sex differences. The linear regression model for maladaptive trait domains revealed a significant association between total PHQ-9 scores and overall personality trait scores (B = 0.05 [0.05, 0.06]; β = 0.61 [0.58, 0.64]; p < 0.001). Similarly, another regression model confirmed this association, with overall personality trait scores being statistically significant (B = 7.0 [6.6, 7.3]; β = 0.62 [0.59, 0.65]; p < 0.001)".
Our findings revealed a significant correlation between maladaptive personality traits and depression in medical students. Moreover, the strong correlation between depression and negative affect suggests that negative affect may be closely linked to depressive symptoms. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between maladaptive trait domains and depression and how that relationship affects vulnerable groups such as medical students.
适应不良的人格特质与其他精神障碍（如抑郁症）之间的关系尚未得到充分研究，尤其是在医学生中。此外，医学生中抑郁症的患病率高于普通人群，这增加了他们患相关精神疾病的易感性。因此，本研究旨在基于《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第5版人格障碍替代模型（DSM-5 AMPD）的B标准，调查医学生中抑郁症与适应不良人格特质领域之间的关系，同时突出相关的社会人口学因素。
于2024年5月至9月进行了一项横断面研究，通过在线问卷对参与者进行调查。问卷包括三个部分：社会人口学特征、通过患者健康问卷-9（PHQ-9）评估抑郁症，以及通过《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第5版简版人格量表（PID-5-BF）评估适应不良人格特质。在R软件中通过各种包进行统计分析，用于数据清理、分析和可视化，采用描述性统计、回归模型、相关性分析和可靠性检验。
共有2203名学生参与了本研究，女性略占优势，有1230名（55.8%）。适应不良特质总分的平均值（标准差）为1.11（0.54），PHQ-9的平均值为11.7（6.0）。统计分析表明，抑郁症得分较高与女性的关联比与男性更强，而适应不良特质得分没有显著的性别差异。适应不良特质领域的线性回归模型显示，PHQ-9总分与总体人格特质得分之间存在显著关联（B = 0.05 [0.05, 0.06]；β = 0.61 [0.58, 0.64]；p < 0.001）。同样，另一个回归模型证实了这种关联，总体人格特质得分具有统计学意义（B = 7.0 [6.6, 7.3]；β = 0.62 [0.59, 0.65]；p < 0.001）。
我们的研究结果显示医学生中适应不良人格特质与抑郁症之间存在显著相关性。此外，抑郁症与消极情绪之间的强相关性表明消极情绪可能与抑郁症状密切相关。需要进一步研究以了解适应不良特质领域与抑郁症之间的关系，以及这种关系如何影响医学生等弱势群体。
