Seasonal mood change and neuroticism: The same construct?

The personality trait of neuroticism has been found to be associated with a polymorphism in the regulatory region of the serotonin (5-HT) transporter gene (5-HTTLPR). This same genetic polymorphism has also been associated wi th seasonal changes in mood and behavior, or seasonality. The purpose of th e current study was to determine whether seasonality and neuroticism are ac tually the same construct given that they are both associated with the same genetic polymorphism. We administered the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Ques tionnaire (SPAQ), which measures the severity of seasonality, and the Revis ed MEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), which measures the severity of neu roticism, to 45 subjects diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), SAD is a clinical expression of seasonality in which patients develop a maj or depressive disorder in the winter that remits in the summer and can be t reated with light therapy. No significant correlation was found between neu roticism and seasonality. We conclude that seasonality and neuroticism are not the same construct, even though the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is a genetic risk factor for each. Copyright (C) 1999 by W.B. Saunders Company.