Depression as nosology and psychological features of a depressive personality

Introduction. Scientists who consider depression as nosology pay attention to external factors, while those who consider this phenomenon as related to psychological features focus on its predictors. It is assumed that attention should be paid to the ratio between factors (predictors) of depression and psychological features of a depressive personality. This allows to identify psychological patterns and predict specific types of depression associated with personality features. The paper aims to identify the ratio between factors (predictors) of depression as nosology and psychological features of a depressive personality within depression studies. Methods. Databases and libraries (Elibrary, Cyberleninka, Sci-hub) were used as sources of information. The data obtained were grouped with respect to the views expressed by the authors and then subjected to theoretical analysis. Results. Analysis of various theoretical approaches revealed a number of relationships between the factors and predictors of depression. As a result, three groups of such factors were identified, including: 1) biological and social factors and predictors (characteristics and qualities of a depressive personality); 2) depressive personality traits or temperament characteristics as predictors of depression. Depression is an extreme form of the phenomenon of a wide spectrum; 3) the mutual dependence of depression as nosology and depressive personality traits. On the one hand, depressive personality traits contribute to the development of depression or make a person more susceptible to traumatic events that aggravate depression. On the other hand, the resulting depression affects the development of depressive personality traits. Conclusion. Our analysis of the correlation between factors and predictors of depression as nosology and psychological characteristics of a depressive personality suggests a hypothesis that these associated phenomena determine the third element of the system, namely the spectrum of depression of different severity.