The role of personality in the prediction of hospitalization duration in mental health

Abstract

Little is known about predictors of treatment duration in inpatients on acute psychiatry unit. In this study we want to explore if personality traits, assessed by Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R), are related to the time of hospitalization. We assessed personality traits in 31 inpatients (12 men and 19 women). We performed a correlational analysis and a multiple regression using the PASW18 program. We identified significant correlation between time of hospitalization and Novelty Seeking (NS) and significantly inversely associated with the subscales Ambitious (PS3; within Persistence dimension) and Pure-hearted conscience (CO5; within Cooperativeness factor). Further, Ambitious, a scale of Persistence personality dimension, was a predictor of time of hospitalization. These findings support the relevance of personality assessments in clinical practice; in fact the TCI-R may be a useful instrument to predict longer treatment duration. On the other hand, more studies are needed in order to replicate these results.