Social support modifies the relationship between personality and depressive symptoms in older adults.

Objective: To explore the relationship between personality, social support, and depression in older adults, identify the personality trait and social support dimension most closely associated with depression, and determine whether the relationship between personality and depression varies by level of social support.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis within longitudinal study.

Participants: Older patients originally diagnosed with major depression (n = 108) and never-depressed comparison group of older adults (n = 103).