Sensation-seeking, life events and depression - The Cardiff Depression Study

Background The relationship between adversity and genetic risk factors in depression could be mediated by familial 'hazard prone' traits, as reflected in high levels of sensation-seeking, Aims To examine whether high sensation-seeking scores are associated with more adverse life events resulting in depression. Method In a sib-pair design, 108 probands with depression and their siblings and 105 healthy control subjects and their siblings were compared for psychopathology, life events and scores on the Sensation-Seeking Questionnaire (SSQ). Results The SSQ scores were correlated negatively with depression, were familial and were correlated positively with less severe events, but not the severe events typically associated with depressive onsets. Conclusions The SSQ measures a familial personality trait and depression is associated with lower scores. Although high sensation-seeking is associated with a higher rate of life events, these carry little threat. Declaration of interest Study Funded by the Wellcome Trust.