Abstract
Personality can be evaluated using either dimensional or categorical methods. Among the dimension-assessing tools available, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) has abundant physiological basis and has been widely applied to various research areas related to substance abuse. The three major dimensions of TPQ are novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and reward dependence. Persistence is sometimes viewed as an independent temperament dimension. The above temperament-related dimensions all have innate components and correspond to different neurotransmitter systems. Much biological and psychosocial research has involved heroin users and the TPQ. Novelty seeking is associated with addiction to more than one substance and retention during maintenance treatment. High persistence is related with low heroin consumption and good compliance during a methadone program. In terms of biology, polymorphism of the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene has been found to affect heroin use behaviors. Personality research applying categorical perspectives has revealed that borderline personality disorder (BPD) and antisocial personality disorder are the most important personality categories among heroin users. The TPQ can also be converted into a categorical view; individuals with high novelty seeking, high harm avoidance, and low reward dependence have been categorized as having an explosive or borderline personality pattern, which is similar to BPD as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The borderline personality pattern is the most common TPQ pattern among heroin users and this has been supported by several studies. Subjects with BPD have been found to be less cooperative when undertaking methadone maintenance therapy. This phenomenon can be understood from an autonomic perspective. Compared with the other TPQ patterns, heroin-dependent patients with a borderline personality pattern show a lower reduction in sympathetic activity and a lower elevation in parasympathetic tone after taking methadone. This implies that methadone has a lower stabilizing effect when given to borderline personality pattern individuals, which may explain their poor compliance during the treatment program.
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