1606 – Temperament in individuals with psychotic disorders before and after the onset of illness

Abstract

Introduction The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) is used to measure novelty seeking (NS), harm avoidance (HA), reward dependence RD), and persistence (P). Objectives We will study temperament in individuals with psychosis and healthy controls. Aim We aim to study the stability of temperament in individuals with psychotic disorders (with onset of illness before and after first follow-up) and in healthy controls. Methods As part of the 31-year follow-up survey of the prospective population based Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort, the TCI was filled by a large sample of individuals. A subsample of psychotic individuals, with the onset of illness before (n=16) or after (n=15) the 31-year follow-up, and healthy controls (n=117) filled in these scales again at the age of 43. We studied also the association between psychotic symptoms and premorbid temperament. Results The 31-year and 43-year temperament scores correlated strongly among controls (Pearson's r: NS 0.68, HA 0.60, RD 0.56, P 0.54), whereas correlations among psychotic individuals with the onset of psychosis before first follow-up were weaker (NS 0.38, HA 0.50, RD 0.17, P 0.53). High HA before the onset of illness (at age of 31 years) associated significantly with a lower likelihood of remission and with more negative, disorganization and total symptoms in the PANSS. High NS before illness associated with a higher likelihood of remission according to the PANSS. Conclusions Temperament was stable among controls, and more unstable in individuals with psychoses. Premorbid harm avoidance and novelty seeking predicts the clinical outcome in schizophrenia.