TYPUS MELANCHOLICUS IN LIGHT OF THE 5-FACTOR MODEL OF PERSONALITY

The present paper examines Typus melancholicus (TM), which is widely a ccepted as premorbid personality of depression in Germany and Japan, f rom the viewpoint of the five-factor model of personality, which has r ecently been gaining international popularity as the comprehensive mod el of personality traits. Two measures of TM, von Zerssen's F-list and Kasahara's scale, as well as the personality questionnaire for the fi ve-factor model, NEO Five Factor Inventory, were completed for 140 con secutive psychiatric outpatients by their close relatives. It was foun d that (a) the two measures of TM had good internal consistency reliab ility, (b) they had reasonable concurrent validity, and (c) TM was cha racterized by high Conscientiousness, high Agreeableness and, to a les ser degree, high Extraversion. The results were largely in agreement w ith theoretical prediction and provide further support to the construc t validity of the TM measures. Whether combining the three personality traits into one type is meaningful in depicting a particular premorbi d personality constellation awaits further empirical examination.