There has been a great deal of research assessing whether certain personality characteristics can lead to depression, among them self-criticism. In one study self-criticism was a significant predictor of depression in medical students, who go through extreme stress during and after medical school. Controlling for initial symptoms, self-criticism was a stronger predictor than even previous depression status both 2 years and 10 years after the initial assessment. In a sample with a history of depression, Mongrain and Leather (2006) found that measures of self-criticism were associated with the number of past episodes of depression. The personality was indicative of depression history, but self-criticism in an interaction with immature dependence was able to predict future episodes of depression as well.