Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) as predictors of depression among Japanese college students.

To examine the predictive power of Cloninger's psychobiology model of depression, 167 Japanese college students were studied on two occasions, with an interval of approximately three months. At Time 1 (T1), the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were distributed. At Time 2 (T2), the SDS was distributed again. The T2 SDS score was positively correlated with Harm Avoidance and negatively correlated with Reward Dependence and Self-directedness at T1. However, after controlling for the T1 SDS score, the T2 SDS score was predicted only by T1 Self-directedness. These data suggest that lower Self-directedness can be predictive of depression, whereas higher Harm Avoidance and lower Reward Dependence are state-dependent.