Self-directedness Dimensions Research Articles

Effects of Self-Esteem and Coping Skills on Compulsive Buying in Patients with Major Depression: The Moderator Role of Temperament and Character

Objective: In this study, we aimed to test how compulsive buying behavior is affected by self-esteem and coping skills in depressed patients and whether this is related to temperament character traits. Materials and Methods: 106 patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and 98 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS), Compulsive Online Buying Scale (COBS), Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced-R (COPE-R), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) were applied to the participants. Results: A significant difference was found in patients with depression in terms of compulsive buying, coping skills, and self-esteem compared to the control group. In addition, the difference between the total scores of the temperament dimensions of harm avoidance, novelty seeking, persistence, and the character dimensions of self-directedness and cooperativeness was found to be significant. There are two models in the study. The firstly revealed that depression severity does not directly affect on compulsive buying behavior, but compulsive buying behavior is indirectly affected by self-esteem and coping skills. The secondly showed that temperament and character traits directly affect coping and self-esteem regardless of the severity of depression. Conclusion: The presence and severity of compulsive buying behavior in patients with depression can be interpreted as an indicator of decreased self-esteem and frequently used maladaptive coping mechanisms.

Temperament and character differences in psychopathic and non-psychopathic antisocial adolescents

The present study tested the possibility of distinguishing between different types of antisocial adolescents based on psychopathic characteristics, and the differences between antisocial adolescents of different ages and subtypes in relation to the Cloninger's personality dimension. The sample included 101 antisocial male adolescents, divided into two age groups (71 respondents in the 13-17 age group and 30 in the 18-25 age group). After conducting model-based cluster analyses, non-psychopathic type (without pronounced signs of psychopathy) and psychopathic type (with pronounced antisocial, lifestyle and interpersonal facet) (Hare’s model) were singled out in the whole sample. Within the psychopathic type, in comparison with juveniles, older adolescents showed a significantly lower expression of character dimensions of Self-directedness and Cooperativeness, which are key in determining all personality disorders. Within the group of juvenile offenders, members of the two subtypes did not differ significantly in temperament and character, which indicates that juveniles are in the process of personality development, especially when it comes to their character, so they are more susceptible to treatment and their outcomes are uncertain. The results suggest that the inflation of psychopathic scores may occur in juveniles due to the identification of developmental features of adolescence (impulsivity, immaturity) as psychopathic, which implies the need to apply basic personality models in the assessment of antisocial adolescent.

Imprisoning Yoga: Yoga Practice May Increase the Character Maturity of Male Prison Inmates

Background: A specific personality profile, characterized by low character maturity (low scores on the self-directedness and cooperativeness character dimensions) and high scores on the novelty seeking temperament dimension of the temperament and character inventory (TCI), has been associated with aggressive antisocial behavior in male prison inmates. It has also been shown that yoga practiced in Swedish correctional facilities has positive effects on the inmates’ well-being and on risk factors associated with criminal recidivism (e.g., antisocial behavior). In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the positive effect of yoga practice on inmates’ behaviors could be extended to include eventual changes in their personality profile. Methods: Male prison inmates (N = 111) in Sweden participated in a randomized controlled 10-week long yoga intervention trial. Participants were randomly assigned to either a yoga group (one class a week; n = 57) or a control group (free of choice weekly physical activity; n = 54). All the inmates completed the TCI questionnaire before and after the intervention period as part of an assessment battery. Results: After the 10-week-long intervention period male inmates scored significantly lower on the novelty seeking and the harm avoidance and significantly higher on the self-directedness dimensions of the TCI. There was a significant medium strong interaction effect between time and group belonging for the self-directedness dimension of character favoring the yoga group. Conclusion: A 10-week-long yoga practice intervention among male inmates in Swedish correctional facilities increased the inmates’ character maturity, improving such abilities as their capability to take responsibility, feel more purposeful, and being more self-acceptant—features that previously were found to be associated with decreased aggressive antisocial behavior.

Investigating the Relationship between Personality Dimensions in Selecting a Field Specialty for Medical Students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: selecting a specialty is one of the most difficult decision of medical practitioners, and this selection depends on personal factors, such as motives and dimensions of personality traits. Therefore, this study investigates relation between of dimensions of Personality traits on selecting the specialty for Medical Students of Mashhad University of Medical SciencesMethods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 243 medical students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences in 2016. Data were obtained from two demographics questionnaires and 125-item questionnaire of personality assessment according to Cloninger theory and TCI test. The association among 7 dimensions of personality traits in four groups including surgery-general, internal medicine, diagnostic and psychiatric specialties was assessed by applying SPSS software and Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. In this study, a= 0.05 was considered as significance level. Results: There was a significant difference between men and women in reward dependency, harm avoidance and self-directedness (p <0.05).women had a higher mean in terms of reward dependence and harm avoidance, however, lower mean regarding the self-directedness dimension. There were significant differences regarding personality dimensions, harm avoidance, persistence and self-directedness among specialties (p <0.05), so that harm avoidance, persistence and self-directedness had the highest mean in psychiatric specialty, surgery-general specialty and diagnostic specialty, respectively. Conclusion: Considering that personality patterns in specialties can be different, thus, awareness of the association between personality traits and the selection of specialty can help students, managers and planners in the future.

Modelos de personalidade e a diferenciação entre experiências anômalas saudáveis e patológicas em contexto religioso

Experiências anômalas em contexto religioso, como visões espirituais e mediunismo, são objeto de estudo de renomados autores da Psicologia da Religião e mesmo da Psicologia da Personalidade. Tais experiências são encontradas tanto na população geral quanto em indivíduos que apresentam transtornos mentais graves. Contudo, a diferenciação entre experiências saudáveis e patológicas ainda é pouco explorada de forma teórica e, menos ainda, empiricamente. Por esse motivo, o principal objetivo deste artigo é problematizar as relações entre modelos de personalidade e experiências anômalas ressignificadas em contexto religioso, a fim de identificar possíveis características de personalidade que estejam associadas à maturidade e à saúde mental. Para tanto, foram revisadas algumas teorias da personalidade e suas contribuições para o campo da religiosidade/espiritualidade. Entre elas, descrevemos o Modelo Psicobiológico de Temperamento e Caráter e as dimensões de Autodirecionamento e Autotranscendência, as quais apontam para a saúde mental em indivíduos com experiências anômalas. Na conclusão, propomos uma Psicologia da Religião baseada em evidências e a integração de modelos teóricos e empíricos de personalidade, a fim de avançar na identificação de indicadores positivos de saúde mental.

Temperament and character personality profile and affective temperaments in self-poisoning nonlethal suicide attempters

Involvement of personality traits in susceptibility to suicidal behaviour has attracted considerable research interest over the past decades. This study was motivated by reports that emotionality may play a potentially confounding role in the association between the personality profile and suicidal behaviour. We assessed the association between personality traits, as measured using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and suicidal behaviour, while controlling for the effects of Affective Temperaments, measured using the Temperament Evaluation of the Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego auto-questionnaire (TEMPS-A) in a sample of 140 consecutive self-poisoning nonlethal suicide (SNS) attempters admitted to the Emergency Toxicology Clinic, comparing them with a sample of 140 age and sex matched healthy controls. After controlling for Affective Temperaments, the temperament dimension of Novelty Seeking (NS) and the character dimensions of Self-directedness and Self-transcendence remained significantly associated with SNS attempts. NS, in particular, was most consistently and uniquely associated with suicidal behaviour. The present study conveys the difficulty in disentangling the personality profile of SNS attempters from their emotionality. We conclude that the risk associated with certain personality traits is often entirely mediated by Affective Temperaments and few dimensions independently contribute to the risk of self-poisoning nonlethal suicidal behaviour.

Personality and well-being in adolescents.

Different profiles of the character dimensions of self-directedness, cooperativeness and self-transcendence result in different levels of wellbeing among adults. However, the influence of the multidimensional character profiles on adolescents' composite wellbeing remains unexplored. This study builds on previous studies with adults, and examines the linear and non-linear associations between the dimensions of the psychobiological model of personality and well-being in adolescents. Participated in this study 1540 adolescents (M = 15.44, SD = 1.731). Personality was assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Well-being was evaluated in a composite perspective: satisfaction with social support, health-related quality of life, satisfaction with life and affect. Variable-centered and individual-centered analyses were performed. Self-directedness was strongly associated with all dimensions of affective and cognitive well-being regardless of the other two character traits. Cooperativeness was associated with non-affective well-being and with positive affect, but only when associated to elevation of Self-directedness and Self-transcendence. Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness explained 15.5% of the non-affective well-being variance. Self-Directedness and Self-Transcendence explained 10.4% of the variance in affective well-being. This study confirms the tendencies found in previous studies with adults from other societies, where each character dimension gives an independent contribution to well-being depending on the interactions with other Character dimensions. Also, this study highlights the importance of considering the non-linear influences of the character dimensions in understanding of adolescents' wellbeing. These results have strong implications for youth positive mental health promotion, including for school-based policies and practices.

Brain cortical organization in entrepreneurs during a visual Stroop decision task

Decision-making in entrepreneurs is a key aspect of their skills, but much about these processes remains unexplained. During a Stroop task, concomitant N200, P300, and N450 event- related potentials were measured in 25 founder entrepreneurs and in age-matched and gender- matched nonfounders/nonentrepreneurs (NFNE). Reaction times were shorter among founder entrepreneurs. The N200 was shorter and N450 larger in founder entrepreneurs. The personali- ties of both groups were measured using the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised. Founder entrepreneurs scored significantly higher in novelty-seeking and self-directedness dimensions, as well as in exploratory excitability, impulsiveness, optimism, eagerness, and responsibility subdimensions. Possible interactions among candidate variables to differentiate between founder entrepreneurs versus NFNE were also addressed, and the model including impulsivity, N450 latency, and impulsivity*N450 interaction came up as the best model for discrimination between founder entrepreneurs and NFNE. A shorter N200, mostly associated with bilateral supplementary motor area activation, revealed a faster capability to make deci- sions when information was noncongruent or blurred. However, the larger N450 revealed a more intense post-evaluation cognitive process happening in founder entrepreneurs and was accompanied by a greater activation of anterior frontal regions. The whole decision-making process consumed more time and resources in founder entrepreneurs, even if its closure was faster. Attention, memory, and alertness, among other factors, have been invoked to explain some of these differences. Founder entrepreneurs may have cognitive and heuristic differences compared with the general population.

The comparison of efficacy pharmacotherapy and group cognitive therapy in dimensions of temperament and character of patients with major depression disorder

Background: Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders which has the fourth rank among the most acute problems of public health. This study aims to compare the efficacy of two treatment methods of group Pharmacotherapy and group Cognitive therapy on the temperament and character dimensions of depressed patients. Methods: 45 male patients with depression were assigned randomly in three groups including pharmacotherapy, cognitive therapy and control. Then inventories of Beck Depression II, and temperament and character of cloninger before and after interventions were conducted in it. Data were analyzed using One–Way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc tests. Results: The results showed that depressive symptoms reduced in both experimental groups, without significant differences between them. In dimensions of temperament and character, results showed that both treatments after performing post test caused a decrease in scores of Harm Avoidance and Reward Dependence dimensions and increase in scores of novelty seeking, persistence, cooperativeness, self-transcendence and self-directedness dimensions. Conclusion: Methods of treatment in terms of efficacy for improvement of major depression disorder have no significant difference, but they can be ranked in this order 1) pharmacotherapy 2) cognitive therapy 3) control. Also, two methods of treatment caused changes in the temperament and character dimensions and there was significant difference between both groups and control group.

ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, temperament, and character: Phenotypical associations and etiology in a Swedish childhood twin study

ObjectiveTo explore the links between neurodevelopmental disorders – attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – and personality in a population-based, genetically sensitive study of children. MethodA population-based sample of 1886 twins aged 9 and 12, enriched for childhood mental health problems, was recruited from the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS). Parents were interviewed over the telephone using the Autism-Tics, AD/HD and other Comorbidities (A-TAC) inventory, and in a second step they rated their children according to the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI). ResultsADHD was strongly correlated with novelty seeking, while ASD was correlated positively with harm avoidance and negatively with reward dependence. The strongest associations between personality traits and neurodevelopmental disorders were negative correlations between the character dimensions of self-directedness and cooperativeness and ADHD and ASD alike. Cross-twin cross-trait correlations between ADHD, ASD, and personality dimensions in monozygotic twins were more than double those in dizygotic twins, indicating a strong genetic effect behind the phenotypic covariation between neurodevelopmental disorders and personality. ConclusionsNeurodevelopmental disorders are linked specifically to particular temperament profiles and generally to hampered development of the self-governing strategies referred to as “character.” Poor self-agency and cooperation may be core functional outcomes in the separation of children with handicapping conditions from those with traits only reminiscent of neurodevelopmental disorders. The associations between neurodevelopmental disorders and personality are at least partly due to genetic effects influencing both conditions. As a consequence, personality must be broadly considered in neuropsychiatry, just as neuropsychiatric disorders and their genetic, neurodevelopmental, and cognitive susceptibilities have to be in personality research and clinical treatment.

Relationship of the 24-item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale with the Temperament and Character Inventory in healthy subjects

Background: The 24-item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS-24) has three subscales to evaluate dysfunctional attitudes predisposing to depression in the areas of achievement, dependency and self-control. Aim: The purpose of the present investigation was to characterize the three subscales in relation to broad dimensions of personality. Methods: The subjects were 528 healthy Japanese volunteers. Personality assessment was conducted by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), which has seven dimensions. The correlations of the DAS-24 subscales with the TCI dimensions were examined by the multiple regression analysis. Results: All DAS-24 subscales had negative correlations with the self-directedness dimension. However, the three subscales had differential patterns of correlations with the reward dependence, persistence, cooperativeness and harm avoidance dimensions. Conclusions: The present study suggests that dysfunctional attitudes measured by the DAS-24 are closely related to low self-directedness of the TCI. Also, the differential patterns of correlations with some TCI dimensions support the content-specificity of the three subscales.

Temperament and Character Profiles of Sasang Typology in an Adult Clinical Sample

The purpose of this study was to examine the biopsychological personality profiles of traditional Korean Sasang typology based on the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) in a Korean adult clinical sample. A total of 97 adults completed the Korean version of the TCI. The participants were classified as one of three traditional Korean Sasang types (31 So-Yang, 41 Tae-Eum, 25 So-Eum) by three specialists in Sasang typology. The seven dimensions of TCI were compared between the different Sasang types using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and profile analysis. There were no significant differences in age, gender and education across the Sasang types. The TCI profile for each of the Sasang types was significantly different (profile analysis, df = 5.038, F = 3.546, P = .004). There were significant differences in the temperament dimensions of Novelty Seeking (F = 3.43, P = .036) and Harm Avoidance (F = 5.43, P = .006) among the Sasang types. The Novelty Seeking score of the So-Yang type (31.90 ± 9.87) was higher than that of the So-Eum type (25.24 ± 9.21; P = .019) while the So-Eum type (44.64 ± 8.47) scored higher on the Harm Avoidance score compared to the So-Yang type (35.16 ± 11.50; P = .003). There were no significant differences in the temperament dimension of Reward Dependence and Persistence, and the three character dimensions of Self-Directedness, Cooperativeness and Self-Transcendence. Results demonstrated distinct temperament traits associated with traditional Korean Sasang types using an objective biopsychological personality inventory. With further study, the Sasang typology may lead to enhanced clinical safety and efficacy as part of personalized medicine with traditional medicine.

Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin-Induced Depression in Chronic Hepatitis C

Pegylated interferon (PegIFN) and ribavirin (RBV) treatment for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can induce depressive episodes. Personality traits have been associated with mood disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the personality profile as a risk factor for induced depression by PegIFN and RBV treatment in patients with HCV. In a prospective cohort study, 204 consecutive HCV outpatients who received PegIFN and RBV were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders and the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R). Moreover, the Patient Health Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were administered at baseline and at 4, 12, 24, and/or 48 weeks of treatment. Patients were recruited between September 2003 and December 2006. One hundred eighteen patients (57.8%) were men. The mean (SD) age was 44.39 (10.4) years. The incidence of induced depression during the 48 weeks of antiviral treatment was 73 (42%). Low self-directedness dimension (HR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.446 to 0.890, p = .009), baseline subclinical depression levels (HR = 1.113, 95% CI = 1.023 to 1.22, p = .013), and history of mood disorders (HR = 0.372, 95% CI = 0.220 to 0.629, p <.001) were independent predictive factors for induced depression during PegIFN and RBV treatment. Other predictive personality TCI-R subscales were enlightened second nature (HR = 2.939, 95% CI = 1.423 to 6.071, p = .004), fatigability (HR = 0.421, 95% CI = 0.237 to 0.749, p = .01), and disorderliness (HR = 0.449, 95% CI = 0.248 to 0.815, p = .008). Low self-directedness, depressive symptoms at baseline, and history of previous mood disorders may predict induced depression by PegIFN and RBV in euthymic HCV patients.

Personality traits associated with intrinsic academic motivation in medical students

Motivation is one of the most important psychological concepts in education and is related to academic outcomes in medical students. In this study, the relationships between personality traits and intrinsic academic motivation were examined in medical students. The study group consisted of 119 Year 2 medical students at Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine. They completed questionnaires dealing with intrinsic academic motivation (the Intrinsic Motivation Scale toward Learning) and personality (the Temperament and Character Inventory [TCI]). On simple regression analyses, the TCI dimensions of persistence, self-directedness, co-operativeness and self-transcendence were positively associated with intrinsic academic motivation. On multiple regression analysis adjusted for age and gender, the TCI dimensions of persistence, self-directedness and self-transcendence were positively associated with intrinsic academic motivation. The temperament dimension of persistence and the character dimensions of self-directedness and self-transcendence are associated with intrinsic academic motivation in medical students.

Cloninger's temperament and character dimensions of personality in patients with major depressive disorder

In this present study, we examined the relationship between the Cloninger's dimensional psychobiologic model of personality and depression in an outpatient population with major depressive disorder. Eighty-one depressed outpatients (67 women, 14 men) and 51 healthy controls (35 women, 16 men) filled out the Turkish version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Depression severity was evaluated by using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory. Depressed patients exhibited statistically significant higher scores for harm avoidance and lower scores for self-directedness compared to healthy controls. Sentimentality (RD1) and dependence (RD4) subscale scores of reward dependence and spiritual acceptance (ST3) subscale of self-transcendence were significantly higher; attachment (RD3) subscale of reward dependence, responsibility (SD1), purposefulness (SD2), resourcefulness (SD3), and congruent second nature (SD5) subscales of self-directedness were significantly lower in the depressed group. In the depressed patient group, main effects of sex were significant for reward dependence and cooperativeness; the scores of both dimensions were higher for women. The Beck Inventory was positively correlated with harm avoidance and negatively correlated with novelty seeking and self-directedness dimensions ( P < .05). The duration of depression (16.33 ± 20.18 months) or the mean onset age of depression (28.68 ± 8.11 years) did not show significant correlations with TCI scales. This study confirms the relationship between harm avoidance and depression and suggests a relationship between self-directedness and depression.

Psychometric characteristic of the Italian version of the Temperament and Character Inventory—Revised, personality, psychopathology, and attachment styles

In this article, we described the psychometric characteristics of the revised version of the Cloninger's personality Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R), Italian translation. Two independent samples, which were composed of 355 and 385 nonclinical mother-language Italian subjects, respectively, completed the TCI-R. A further sample of psychiatric outpatients was compared with community samples. We analyzed the internal consistency of each dimension, the test-retest reliability and the factorial structure of the questionnaire. Furthermore, we explored the potential association between personality, psychopathologic indicators (evaluated by the Symptom Checklist-90), behavior dyscontrol measures, and adaptive and maladaptive interpersonal styles. As a whole, the internal consistency of the TCI-R scales was adequate, although some differences in Cronbach α values were observed between the 2 samples in some TCI-R subfacets. The factorial structure was consistent with the original hypothesis of Cloninger and test-retest showed a good stability of the scores over the time. Normal data for the Italian population were also calculated. Furthermore, the character dimensions of self-directedness and cooperativeness were related with some psychopathologic domains in our sample and negatively with impulsiveness, anger, and hostility. Novelty seeking was associated with impulsiveness, whereas harm avoidance was associated with anger and hostility. On the contrary, persistence and reward dependence were inversely correlated with such traits. Harm avoidance, reward dependence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness were strongly related with measures of attachment. Finally, significant differences were observed in both temperament and character traits between community subjects and psychiatric outpatients. In the present study, the validity of the Italian translation of the TCI-R is therefore supported. Personality features are also confirmed as risk factors for specific psychopathologic domains, impulsivity, anger, and hostility. Furthermore, we found attachment styles of nonclinical subjects correlated with personality features.

The Role of the TCI-R (Temperament Character Inventory) in Individualized Treatment Plannning in a Population of Addicted Professionals

This article discusses a multi-faceted treatment paradigm used to service professionals with addictive disorders. Individualized treatment plans are developed based on a multitude of factors including administration of the TCI-R (Temperament Character Inventory), MCMI-III (Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory) and the WASI (Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence). Treatment goals include specific therapeutic interventions and patient and therapist-directed tasks related to enhanced development of the character dimensions of Self-Directedness, Cooperativeness and Self-Transcendence, as measured on Cloninger's TCI-R inventory.

Temperament and character profile as risk factor of depression and anxiety syndromes induced by interferon and ribavirin treatment in chronic hepatitis c patients

Background:The aim of this study was to examine the temperament and character profile as risk factors of interferon and ribavirin (IFN+RBV) induced psychopathology in chronic hepatitis C patients. According to the Cloninger's biosocial model (TCI), the temperament dimension harm avoidance (HA) is suggested to indicate central serotonergic turnover, which is further correlated with depressive/anxiety states.Methods:198 patients with chronic hepatitis C in treatment with IFN+RBV were evaluated at baseline and 4, 12 and 24 weeks of treatment. All subjects were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), the Hospital Scale of Anxiety and Depression (HADS) and the Temperament and Character Inventory-revised (TCI-R) questionnaire (at basal level).Results:At baseline, 32 patients had a psychiatric syndrome (16.1%). During the first six months of IFN+RBV treatment the incidence of depression/anxiety syndromes was 37.9% (n=63/166). The personality factors associated (p<0.001, corrected) were: HA dimension; fatigability subscale (HA4), anticipatory worry subscale (HA1); self-directedness dimension (SD); congruent subscale (SD5); and; social acceptance subscale (C1). By logistic regression analysis the independent variables that most predict the induced cases (PHQ+) (dependent variable) were: previous history of mood disorder (p<0.001; Exp(b)=5.655), and both HA4 (p<0.001; Exp(b)=1,104) and C1 (p<0.001; Exp(b)=0.845) subscales.Conclusion:The assessment of personality traits (HA, C) and previous history of psychiatric disorders before start the IFN+RBV treatment in chronic hepatitis C patients might identify the patients at risk of induced depression/anxiety disorders during the treatment.This study has been done in part with grants: Instituto-Carlos III (G03/02) (Red-Hepatologia) and (GO3/184) (Red-Genotipacion/Psiquiatria Genetica).

High harm avoidance and low self-directedness in euthymic young adults with recurrent, early-onset depression

Background The personality dimensions of harm avoidance (HA) and self-directedness (SD), as measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), have been widely associated with depression and there is preliminary evidence that they may represent trait markers for depression. However, many studies in this area are limited by the use of heterogeneous samples of depressed patients and by the confounding effect of depressed mood during personality testing. The current study compares TCI personality dimension scores in a group of euthymic young adults with recurrent early-onset major depressive disorder (RE-MDD) to well-matched euthymic controls. Methods Fifty-two young adults with a past history of RE-MDD were recruited from consecutive referrals to a psychiatric clinic at a university health service. Eighty nine controls were also recruited. Euthymia was established in patients by a score of less than 9 on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) and in controls by a Becks Depression Inventory (BDI) score of less than 10. All participants completed the TCI-125. Results Patients and controls were well matched in terms of sociodemographic profile. Euthymic RE-MDD patients scored significantly higher than controls on the temperament dimension of harm avoidance (HA; mean score 14.5 versus 7.8, p < 0.0001) and significantly lower than controls on the character dimension of self-directedness (SD; mean score 14.1 versus 19.9, p < 0.0001). Covariance analysis suggested that both HA and SD contributed independently to the familial risk of depression. Limitations Subjects and controls all came from relatively affluent social backgrounds—these findings may not generalise to more socioeconomically diverse populations. The possibility of a ‘scarring effect’ of depressive episodes on self-reported personality dimension scores cannot be excluded. Conclusions High HA and low SD represent trait markers for liability to recurrent major depressive disorder in young adults. Further research is needed to replicate these findings and to assess the contribution that the experience of depressive episodes makes to self-reported personality dimension scores.

Factors related to severity of vomiting behaviors in bulimia nervosa

Assessments of the severity of vomiting (weekly frequency), depressive and eating-related psychopathology, anger level and management, and personality dimensions were used to characterize patients with bulimia nervosa binge purging type (BN-BP). The sample comprised 130 outpatients with BN and 130 control women. The Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) were administered to all patients. The Self-Directedness dimension of the TCI and the Bulimia subscale of the EDI-2 were the strongest predictors of the severity of bulimic behavior; anger levels and anger expression were not so strongly related to illness severity. A more severe form of bulimic symptomatology probably has substrata in specific character deficits (low Self-Directedness on the TCI) and particular psychopathological features (high bulimia on the EDI-2). Patients with a high frequency of vomiting need specific therapeutic interventions to enhance the character dimension of Self-Directedness.