SELF-REPORT RATINGS AND INFORMANTS RATINGS OF PERSONALITIES OF DEPRESSED OUTPATIENTS

Objective: This study sought to determine whether personality traits o f depressed patients could be assessed similarly by informants and sel f-reports of the patients themselves. Method: Forty-six depressed outp atients completed the self-report (first-person) version of the Revise d NEO Personality Inventory and nominated informants who knew them wel l to complete the third-person version of that instrument. Results: Ag reement between the self-ratings and informants' ratings on the five f actors of the inventory-neuroticism, extraversion, openness-to-experie nce, agreeableness, and conscientiousness-was high. The only significa nt difference between the self-ratings and informants' ratings was on the extraversion scale, where the patients rated themselves as signifi cantly more introverted than did the informants. Conclusions: Informan ts' ratings of personality are similar to self-report ratings of depre ssed patients. Depressed mood may not influence the self-report of per sonality traits.