Sociodemographic factors associated with personality traits assessed through the TCI

Abstract

The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) assesses four dimensions of temperament – novelty seeking (NS), harm avoidance (HA), reward dependence (RD) and persistence (P) – and three character dimensions – self-directedness (SD), cooperation (C), and self-transcendence (ST). Previous research has shown that these personality traits may be affected by several factors. This study explored the influence of sociodemographic factors on personality in a healthy Spanish sample. The Spanish version of the TCI was administered to 404 adults aged 20–60 years screened for personal mental disorder using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. There were gender differences in HA [ t = 2.47, p = 0.014], RD [ t = 2.91, p = 0.002], and C [ t = 3.06, p = 0.050], with women scoring higher on each measure. Multivariate models showed that NS decreased with increasing age for men, HA increased with age and RD decreased with increasing age for both genders, and SD increased with age for women. C varied significantly according to age in women (younger women scored higher). After adjustment for age, demographic variables (i.e., residence, socio-economic group, education, employment, civil and parental status) were significantly associated with all dimensions (except ST) in women and with HA, RD, SD, C, and ST in men. The scores obtained appear to reflect macrosocial characteristics of Western culture.