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The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) was administered to 408 South African college students. When the instrument was factor analyzed at the facet level with varimax rotation, the structure of the five-factor model was well reproduced for the entire sample as well as the White and Black subgroups. Parallel analysis indicated the appropriateness of the five-factor solution. Whereas the structure of personality was highly similar across race, there were statistically significant differences in mean scores of some domains and facets by race. The greatest difference was in Openness to Experience, particularly in the Openness to Feelings facet, with the White subgroup scoring relatively high, the Black subgroup scoring relatively low, and the Indian subgroup scoring in an intermediate range. The authors speculate that these differences are primarily the result of social, economic, and cultural differences between the races rather than the direct product of race itself.

The Beck Depression Inventory is frequently used to detect depression and its severity because depression is a prevalent mood disorder and is commonly treated by prescription of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac. The importance of serotonin (5-HT) in the treatment of major depression is evident but the nature of this involvement is unclear. In this study, the characteristics of platelets are employed as a peripheral model of the neuron to estimate central serotonergic activity, which is a consequence of numerous factors including 5-HT2 receptor sensitivity. The greater the sensitivity of the platelet serotonin receptors, the lower the concentration of serotonin required to mobilise a particular amount of calcium from internal stores through serotonin stimulation. Hence, Platelet 5-HT2 receptor sensitivity is inferred from the concentration of serotonin that is required to produce half maximal intracellular calcium mobilisation (EC50). In the present study, the correlation of -.422 between scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and EC50 in a sample of 49 university students was significant, implying that mood is significantly related to 5-HT2 receptor sensitivity, such that increases in depressed mood are accompanied by increases in 5-HT2 receptor sensitivity.

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