Neuroticism, conscientiousness and extraversion interact to predict depression: A confirmation in a non-Western culture

Abstract Whereas most empirical studies on personality-depression associations have focused on WEIRD societies (western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic), little is known about the relation between personality dimensions and depression in non-Western societies, including the Arab world (which is host to around 414 million people). In the present cross-sectional study (N = 969), we tested whether the well-documented Neuroticism x Extraversion x Conscientiousness (N x E x C) interaction in relation to depressive mood can be replicated in the Arab-Algerian society. Our results showed that this three-way interaction was significant, indicating that combination of high levels of conscientiousness and extraversion was protective against the deleterious effects of high levels of neuroticism on depressive mood. These results add confidence that personality-depression associations are not exclusively and inherently “WEIRD”.