High Harm Avoidance Research Articles

Temperament Affects Sympathetic Nervous Function in a Normal Population

ObjectiveAlthough specific temperaments have been known to be related to autonomic nervous function in some psychiatric disorders, there are few studies that have examined the relationship between temperaments and autonomic nervous function in a normal population. In this study, we examined the effect of temperament on the sympathetic nervous function in a normal population.MethodsSixty eight healthy subjects participated in the present study. Temperament was assessed using the Korean version of the Cloninger Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Autonomic nervous function was determined by measuring skin temperature in a resting state, which was recorded for 5 minutes from the palmar surface of the left 5th digit using a thermistor secured with a Velcro® band. Pearson's correlation analysis and multiple linear regression were used to examine the relationship between temperament and skin temperature.ResultsA higher harm avoidance score was correlated with a lower skin temperature (i.e. an increased sympathetic tone; r=-0.343, p=0.004) whereas a higher persistence score was correlated with a higher skin temperature (r=0.433, p=0.001). Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that harm avoidance was able to predict the variance of skin temperature independently, with a variance of 7.1% after controlling for sex, blood pressure and state anxiety and persistence was the factor predicting the variance of skin temperature with a variance of 5.0%.ConclusionThese results suggest that high harm avoidance is related to an increased sympathetic nervous function whereas high persistence is related to decreased sympathetic nervous function in a normal population.

Does Personality Predict Depression and Use of an Internet-Based Intervention for Depression among Adolescents?

Background. Focus upon depression and prevention of its occurrence among adolescents is increasing. Novel ways of dealing with this serious problem have become available especially by means of internet-based prevention and treatment programs of depression and anxiety. The use of Internet-based intervention programs among adolescents has revealed some difficulties in implementation that need to be further elucidated. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between personality and adolescent depression and the characteristics of users of an Internet-based intervention program. Method. The Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI), the General Self-Efficacy scale (GSE) and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (CES-D) have been administered to a sample (n = 1234) of Norwegian senior high-school students. Results. Multiple regression analysis revealed associations between depression and gender, and several JTCI domains and facets. In line with previous findings in adults, high Harm Avoidance and low Self-Directedness emerged as the strongest predictors of adolescent depressive symptoms. Further, in logistic regression analysis with the covariates JTCI, GSE and CES-D, the only significant variables predicting use/non-use were the CES-D and the temperament domain Reward Dependence. Conclusion. The results in this study revealed level of depressive symptoms as the strongest predictor of the use of the Internet based intervention and that personality might provide useful information about the users.

Effects of Adolescent Temperament and Parent-child Attachment on Depression

Purpose: This study was done to examine levels of temperament, parent-child attachment and depression of adolescents and verify its effects. Methods: Surveys were conducted with 500 students from two middle schools, one located in Seoul and one in Gyeonggi Province. Adolescent temperament was measured using the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory, parentchild attachment using the Revised Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment and depression using the Children’s Depression Inventory. Cluster, t-test, correlation and logistic regression were used for data analysis. Results: Characteristics of temperament were classified into 2 groups. The ‘Adaptation vulnerable group’ showed high Harm Avoidance and the ‘Adaptation protective group’ showed high Reward Dependence, and Patience. The ‘Adaptation vulnerable group’ showed lower attachment and higher depression than the ‘Adaptation protective group’. Novelty Seeking and Harm Avoidance correlated positively with depression and negatively with attachment. Students with higher levels of attachment reported lower levels of depression. The logistic regression analysis showed that the ‘Adaptation vulnerable group’ was 2.16 times more likely to be affected by depression than ‘Adaptation protective group’. Conclusion: Results of this study can be used to develop depression intervention programs for adolescent psychological health and provide encouragement in the development of parent-child attachment.

Effects of Temperament and Character Profiles on State and Trait Depression and Anxiety: A Prospective Study of a Japanese Youth Population

Objective. To examine the effects of temperament and character profiles on state and trait depression and anxiety in a Japanese youth population. Method. Japanese university students were solicited for participation in a two-wave study, with assessments performed at Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2), separated by a five-month interval. A total of 184 students completed the Japanese version of the temperament and character inventory (TCI) at T1 and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) at T1 and T2. We posited two latent variables, trait depression and anxiety, composed of the T1 and T2 HADS depression and anxiety scores, respectively. We also posited that temperament domain traits would predict character domain traits, and that all the personality traits would be linked to trait depression and anxiety and also predict T2 depression and anxiety. Results. Structural regression modeling showed that (1) only high Novelty Seeking predicted T2 Anxiety score, (2) trait depression and anxiety were linked to high harm avoidance and low self-directedness, and (3) trait depression was linked to high self-transcendence whereas trait anxiety was linked to low reward dependence, persistence, and cooperativeness. Conclusion. The characteristic associations between TCI subscales and depression and anxiety were limited to the trait rather than state aspects of depression and anxiety.

Temperament and character profile of patients with fibromyalgia

Personality may play an important role in the development and initiation of fibromyalgia (FM). It may also be used for individualized treatment planning. We aimed to assess personality profiles of FM patients and to evaluate the association of personality profiles with education, symptom severity, depression, anxiety, and functioning. Forty-two female patients with FM and 48 healthy female controls were enrolled in the study. We assessed personality profiles of FM patients using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to detect the correlation between the TCI and education, symptom severity, depression, anxiety, and functioning. FM patients had significantly higher harm avoidance (HA) and self-transcendence (ST) scores, and lower self-directedness (SD) scores than those in the healthy controls. High HA scores were related to impaired functioning, depression, and anxiety symptoms. A negative correlation has been found between SD scores and depression scores. The study suggests that FM patients have distinctive temperament and character profile compared with healthy controls. FM patients tend to have high HA, high ST, and low SD scores.

No association of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met polymorphism with anorexia nervosa in Japanese

The Met66 allele of the Val66Met polymorphism in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene has been reported to be associated with anorexia nervosa (AN), and also lower minimum body mass index (BMI) and higher harm avoidance in AN. We genotyped the Val66Met polymorphism (rs6265) in 689 AN cases and 573 control subjects. There were no significant differences in the genotype or allele frequencies of the Val66Met between AN and control subjects (allele wise, odds ratio = 0.920, 95% CI 0.785-1.079, P = 0.305). No difference was found in minimum BMIs related to Val66Met in AN (one-way ANOVA, P > 0.05). Harm avoidance scores on the Temperament and Character Inventory were lower in the Met66 allele carriers (P = 0.0074) contrary to the previous report. Thus we were unable to replicate the previous findings that the Met66 allele of the BDNF is associated with AN and that the minimum BMI is lower or the harm avoidance score is higher in AN patients with the Met66 allele.

Personality traits in patients with Parkinson’s disease: assessment and clinical implications

This study reviews empirical evidence on the association between personality traits and Parkinson's disease (PD), with a twofold aim. First, to better identify non-motor symptoms, such as affective symptoms and personality changes, that could help to define the pre-motor phase of PD; second, to better understand the neurobiological bases of personality traits, a goal that is not fully accomplished by a purely anatomical approach. A literature review was performed on studies of personality traits in PD patients, in electronic databases ISI Web of Knowledge, Medline and PsychInfo, conducted in July 2011. We found evidence that the existence of a characteristic premorbid personality profile of PD patients is not actually sustained by robust empirical evidence, mainly due to the methodological bias of the retrospective assessment of personality; PD patients present a personality profile of low novelty seeking and high harm avoidance. We concluded that the definition of a pre-motor phase of PD, based on non-motor symptoms, should search for the presence of concomitant affective disorders and for a positive psychiatric history for affective disorders rather than for a typical personality profile or personality changes. The low novelty seeking profile is probably related to the dopaminergic deficit, while the high harm avoidance profile is probably associated with the presence of affective disorders. Clinical implications of these findings, in regard to personality assessment and pharmacological treatments in PD, are also discussed.

The psychological costs and benefits of being highly persistent: Personality profiles distinguish mood disorders from anxiety disorders

The personality trait of Persistence is highly valued by conscientious overachievers, but it has both psychological costs and benefits. The interactions among multiple personality factors influencing the development of mood and anxiety disorders have been confounded in prior clinical samples, but can be disentangled in terms of their underlying brain circuitry and influence on perception of emotional stimuli. 285 individuals who represented the full range of personality variation in a large sample of adult volunteers from the general community of Israel were selected for follow-up by psychiatric interviews, cognitive testing, and medical examinations. The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) measured profiles of traits that distinguished individuals with diagnoses of mood and/or anxiety disorders using linear discriminant analysis and non-linear profile analysis. High Harm Avoidance and low Self-directedness strongly distinguished people with mood and/or anxiety disorders from those with neither. High Persistence distinguished people with only anxiety disorders from those with mood disorders. High Persistence was associated with greater health and happiness overall, but also led to more negative emotions than in people with low Persistence unless they were both unusually tolerant of frustration (i.e., low in Harm Avoidance) and self-accepting of personal limitations (i.e. high in Self-directedness). Subjects were volunteers over 40 years of age at assessment. People who are highly persistent (i.e., persevering, ambitious, perfectionistic) are more likely to have anxiety disorders than mood disorders, even when they have other traits increasing risk for both (i.e., high Harm Avoidance and low Self-directedness). High Persistence increases both positive and negative emotions in most people. However, high Persistence reduces negative emotions and increases positive emotions if a person is easy-going (i.e., "happy-go-lucky" when low in both Harm Avoidance and Self-directedness).

Harm Avoidance and Risk of Alzheimer's Disease

To test the hypothesis that harm avoidance, a trait associated with behavioral inhibition, is associated with the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). A total of 791 adults 55 years and older without dementia completed a standard self-report measure of harm avoidance. They then underwent annual evaluations that included detailed cognitive testing and clinical classification of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia, and AD. In a uniform neuropathologic examination of those who died, counts of neuritic plaques, diffuse plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles were standardized and combined to yield a pathologic measure of disease. The relation of harm avoidance to incidence of AD and related outcomes was estimated in analyses adjusted for age, sex, and education. During a mean of 3.5 years of annual observation, 98 people (12.4%) developed incident AD. A high level of harm avoidance (90th percentile) was associated with a more than two-fold increase in risk of AD compared with a low score (10th percentile). Higher harm avoidance was also associated with increased incidence of MCI and more rapid decline in episodic memory, working memory, and perceptual speed (but not semantic memory or visuospatial ability). In 116 participants who died and underwent brain autopsy, harm avoidance was not related to a composite measure of plaques and tangles. A high level of the harm avoidance trait, indicating a tendency toward behavioral inhibition, is related to the risk of developing AD and its precursor, MCI.

A Psychosocial Study of Male-to-Female Transgendered and Male Hustler Sex Workers in São Paulo, Brazil

This study examined sociodemographic variables, personality characteristics, and alcohol and drug misuse among male sex workers in the city of Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil. A total of 45 male-to-female transgender sex workers and 41 male hustlers were evaluated in face-to-face interviews at their place of work from 2008 to 2010. A "snowball" sampling procedure was used to access this hard-to-reach population. Male-to-female transgender sex workers reported fewer conventional job opportunities, fewer school problems, and higher harm avoidance and depression levels than male hustlers. Also, transgender sex workers reported earning more money through sex work and more frequently living in hostels with peers than their counterparts. As biological male sex workers are a heterogeneous population, attempts to classify them into distinctive groups should be further carried out as a way to better understand and identify their behavior, design effective health interventions, and consequently minimize the likelihood of unintended adverse outcomes. Our study showed that gender performance can be an important variable to be considered by researchers and policy makers when working with sex workers and developing HIV/AIDS prevention and public health programs, given that transgender and male sex workers not only display distinctive behavior and physical appearance but also reveal differences on specific psychological measures, such as personality traits and depression levels. We recommend that counselors working with this population strike a balance between facilitating self-disclosure and establishing more evidence-based directive interventions.

Temperament and Character Inventory – Revised (TCI–R) 1 year after the earthquake of L’Aquila (Italy)

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the impact of L’Aquila earthquake (Italy) on the Temperament and Character Inventory – Revised (TCI–R) administered 1 year after the earthquake to a community sample of 375 subjects exposed to the earthquake and 480 non-exposed. Exposed people showed variations in the adaptive response to stress with higher Persistence (P) and lower Harm Avoidance (HA) dimensions among adult and lower self directedness (SD) and higher Harm Avoidance (HA) in older people. No differences in young adults were seen. Temperament and character dimensions are sensitive to trauma exposure in different ways in different age groups.

The CACNA1C and ANK3 risk alleles impact on affective personality traits and startle reactivity but not on cognition or gating in healthy males

The rs10994336 ANK3 and rs1006737 CACNA1C genetic variants have recently been identified as the most consistent, genome-wide significant risk factors for bipolar disorder, while the CACNA1C variant has also been associated with schizophrenia and major depression. The aim of this study was to examine the phenotypic consequences of the risk CACNA1C and ANK3 alleles in a large homogeneous cohort of healthy young males. We recruited 703 randomly selected, healthy army conscripts (mean age 22.1 ± 3.0 years) from the first wave of the Learning on Genetics of Schizophrenia project in Heraklion, Crete. Of those recruited, 530 subjects entered and completed the study. Subjects were assessed for prepulse inhibition (PPI), startle reactivity, neuropsychology, and personality. UNPHASED analysis revealed that the rs1006737 A-allele was associated with lower extraversion and higher harm avoidance, trait anxiety, and paranoid ideation, while the rs10994336 T-allele was associated with lower novelty seeking and behavioral activation scores (p < 0.01). Both alleles were associated with high startle reactivity (p < 0.05). There were no significant associations with any cognitive task performance or PPI. The CACNA1C genotype was associated with proneness to anxiety and negative mood, while the ANK3 genotype was associated with proneness to anhedonia. Both risk genotypes were associated with high startle reactivity, suggesting a role of these polymorphisms in threat/stress signal processing, probably in the hippocampus and/or amygdala. None of the risk genotypes affected sensorimotor gating or behavioral performance in an extensive battery of executive function tests in this cohort of healthy males.

Cloninger's temperament traits and inherited long QT syndrome

Objective The long QT syndrome (LQTS) is an inherited cardiac disorder which predisposes the mutation carrier to ventricular arrhythmias that can lead to sudden death. The objective of the present study was to examine the association between the symptom status of congenital long QT syndrome mutation carriers and their temperament. Methods The study subjects included 587 LQTS mutation carriers from the Finnish LQTS registry, and 2056 individuals from a database study, the Young Finns Study (YFS), representing general population and serving as control subjects. The LQTS subjects were divided into symptomatic (n=259) and asymptomatic (n=328) groups, according to their history of arrhythmic events. Temperament was assessed using the Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), assessing novelty seeking, harm avoidance and reward dependence. Results Congenital long QT syndrome mutation carriers had a higher harm avoidance (HA) than those representing the general population (2.77 vs. 2.61, p<.001, η²=0.011). Symptomatic and asymptomatic LQTS mutation carriers did not differ from one another in any of the three Cloninger's temperament traits. HA was significantly higher in women (2.72 vs. 2.54, p<0.001 η²=0.017). Conclusions LQTS mutation carriers may have higher stress proneness because of their high HA, which in turn may predispose them to the effects of environmental loading and thus increase the risk of arrhythmias.

Symptomatic overlap between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and borderline personality disorder in women: the role of temperament and character traits

ObjectiveThere is substantial symptomatic overlap between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adults, but the nature of the relationship between these disorders needs further clarification. The role of temperament and character traits in the differentiation of classes of patients with similar ADHD and BPD symptom profiles was examined and possible pathways between early temperament and future ADHD and/or BPD were hypothesized. MethodsStructured diagnostic interviews were conducted in 103 female patients to assess current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition symptoms of ADHD and BPD, and parent interviews were used to assess ADHD symptoms in childhood. Classes of subjects with homogeneous symptom profiles were identified using latent class analysis. Temperament and character traits were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory of Cloninger et al; scores were then compared across the latent classes. ResultsLatent class analysis revealed 4 mutually exclusive classes of patients: 1 with only ADHD symptoms; 1 with BPD symptoms and ADHD symptoms of hyperactivity; 1 with BPD symptoms and ADHD symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity; and 1 with BPD symptoms and ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity. High Novelty Seeking was found in all classes except for the class with symptoms of BPD and only the hyperactivity aspect of ADHD. The highest Novelty Seeking temperament scores were found in that class of patients with both symptoms of BPD and symptoms in all areas of ADHD. High Harm Avoidance, low Cooperativeness, and low Self-directedness were specifically related to classes containing BPD symptoms. ConclusionsClasses of ADHD and BPD symptoms are associated with specific temperament and character configurations. Novelty Seeking was associated with the inattention symptoms of ADHD. An outspoken Novelty Seeking temperament suggests vulnerability for the development of ADHD and co-occurring BPD. Contrary to patients with combined ADHD and BPD symptoms, patients with only symptoms of ADHD showed normal character development and thus an absence of a personality disorder. Assessment of temperament and character traits can improve our understanding of the complex relationship between ADHD and BPD.

S03-01 - Suicide and Personality: Focus on Old Age

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, mortality from suicide being approximately 2%. Attempted suicide appears to be a major risk factor for suicide completion. Anger, aggression and impulsivity are personality traits associated with suicide attempt. We analysed anger, impulsivity and temperament/character scales as predictors of aggression and self-aggression in suicide attempters and compared this to anger- and aggression-related traits between impulsive and premeditated suicide attempts as well as between violent and non-violent suicide methods.The State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), the Questionnaire for Measuring Factors of Aggression (FAF), and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) were assessed.Higher aggression scores, as measured by FAF, were predicted by being male, meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder and having higher angry temperament scores as assessed by STAXI. TCI dimensions associated with self-aggression were high harm avoidance, high impulsivity and low selfdirectedness.State anger, inwardly directed anger and inhibition of aggression were also predictors of self-aggression.In conclusion, impulsivity and harm avoidance have emerged as temperament dimensions independently associated with self-aggressive tendencies in personality. Such interactions could explain the correlation between temperament and suicidality but further research is needed. Anger and selfdirectedness appear to have some effects on suicide attempt.

Differences in temperament and character dimensions in patients with bipolar I or II or major depressive disorder and general population subjects

Whether temperament and character differ between bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and general population subjects, or between BD I and BD II patients, remains unclear. BD patients (n=191) from the Jorvi Bipolar Study and MDD patients (n=266) from the Vantaa Depression Study (VDS) and the Vantaa Primary Care Depression Study were interviewed at baseline, at 6 and 18 months, and in the VDS at 5 years. A general population comparison group (n=264) was surveyed by mail. BD patients' scores on the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised were compared at an index interview, when levels of depression and mania were lowest, with scores of MDD patients and controls. BD I (n=99) and BD II (n=92) patients were compared. Compared with controls, both BD and MDD patients had higher harm avoidance [odds ratio (OR) 1.027, p<0.001 and OR 1.047, p<0.001, respectively] and lower persistence (OR 0.983, p=0.006 and OR 0.968, p<0.001, respectively) scores. Moreover, BD patients had lower self-directedness (OR 0.979, p=0.003), MDD patients lower reward dependence (OR 0.976, p=0.002) and self-transcendence (OR 0.966, p<0.001) scores. BD patients scored lower in harm avoidance (OR 0.980, p=0.002) and higher in novelty seeking (OR 1.027, p<0.001) and self-transcendence (OR 1.028, p<0.001) than MDD patients. No differences existed between BD I and II patients. The patterns of temperament and character dimensions differed less between BD and MDD patients, than patients from their controls. The most pronounced difference was higher novelty seeking in BD than MDD patients. The dimensions investigated are unlikely to differ between BD I and BD II patients.

Temperament and Character Domains of Personality and Depression

Depression Research and Treatment has issued a second compendium of papers focused on temperament, character, and depression. The psychobiology theory of personality proposed by Cloninger is a currently prevailing theory of personality that has been extensively investigated in the context of many different types of mental and personality disorders. This special issue reports up-to-date research findings on the psychobiology theory and depression from different countries. The current issue consists of six reports. Miettunen and colleagues in Finland present findings from a longitudinal birth cohort study (N = 4941). Participants with depression at 31 years of followup had higher rates of harm avoidance (HA) than participants without any psychiatric disorders. Participants without any psychiatric history were followed for another 12 years. Those who subsequently developed depression had high HA in 1997. The authors hypothesize that high HA is a potential indicator for subsequent depression. This study only used temperament scales and thus no information was available on the association between character and depression. Students in senior high schools (N = 1234) who were invited to participate in an internet-based intervention program for depression were studied by Christian and colleagues in Norway. High HA and low self-directedness (SD) emerged as strong predictors of adolescent depression. Interestingly, use of the internet intervention program was associated with low reward dependence (RD) in addition to depression severity. Garcia and colleagues studied an adolescent population (N = 304) in Sweden. Based on positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) scores derived from the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule, the participants were categorized into four groups: self-fulfilling (high PA and low NA), high affective (high PA and high NA), low affective (low PA and low NA), and self-destructive (low PA and high NA). The self-fulfilling group was characterized by higher persistence (PS), SD, and cooperativeness (CO) than the three other groups. The self-destructive group was characterized by high HA and RD. The authors claim character maturity (expressed as high SD and CO) is important for psychological well-being. In Japan, Lu and colleagues followed graduate students (N = 184) on two occasions separated by a five-month interval. In a structural regression model, they posited that trait anxiety and depression constructs were linked to high HA and low SD. Although trait anxiety and depression scores were moderately correlated with each other, these two constructs showed different associations with Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) subscale scores. Thus, trait depression was linked to high self-transcendence (ST) whereas trait anxiety was linked to low RD, PS, and CO. The authors claim that character maturity is linked to trait rather than state aspects of depression and anxiety. Directly exposed survivors of the Oklahoma City bombing randomly selected from a bombing survivor registry (N = 151) were examined by North and colleagues in the USA. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the bombing was associated with low SD and CO together with high ST and HA. Postdisaster major depression (MD) was more prevalent among those with PTSD than those without it, but low SD and CO could not be predicted by post-disaster MD. The authors emphasized the importance of developing and validating measures of resilience. A unique measure of temperament, the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego (TEMPS), was used by Tei-Tominaga and colleagues to study job stress among employees in one Japanese company (N = 728). Depression was predicted by high levels of cyclothymic and anxious temperament traits even after controlling for the effects of work-related stressors such as demanding work conditions and overcommitment. These articles all indicate the importance of temperament and character traits in the development of depression among a variety of populations across different countries. Despite some differences between the studies, a common theme may be that low SD and high HA are predictors of depression either directly or being mediated by third variables. Toshinori Kitamura C. Robert Cloninger Andrea Fossati Jorg Richter

Eating Disorders and Major Depression: Role of Anger and Personality

This study aimed to evaluate comorbidity for MD in a large ED sample and both personality and anger as clinical characteristics of patients with ED and MD. We assessed 838 ED patients with psychiatric evaluations and psychometric questionnaires: Temperament and Character Inventory, Eating Disorder Inventory-2, Beck Depression Inventory, and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. 19.5% of ED patients were found to suffer from comorbid MD and 48.7% reported clinically significant depressive symptomatology: patients with Anorexia Binge-Purging and Bulimia Nervosa were more likely to be diagnosed with MD. Irritable mood was found in the 73% of patients with MD. High Harm Avoidance (HA) and low Self-Directedness (SD) predicted MD independently of severity of the ED symptomatology, several clinical variables, and ED diagnosis. Assessing both personality and depressive symptoms could be useful to provide effective treatments. Longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the pathogenetic role of HA and SD for ED and MD.

Personality Profiles Identify Depressive Symptoms over Ten Years? A Population-Based Study

Little is known about the relationship between temperament and character inventory (TCI) profiles and depressive symptoms. Personality profiles are useful, because personality traits may have different effects on depressive symptoms when combined with different combinations of other traits. Participants were from the population-based Young Finns study with repeated measurements in 1997, 2001, and 2007 (n = 1402 to 1902). TCI was administered in 1997 and mild depressive symptoms (modified Beck's depression inventory, BDI) were reported in 1997, 2001, and 2007. BDI-II was also administered in 2007. We found that high harm avoidance and low self-directedness related strongly to depressive symptoms. In addition, sensitive (NHR) and fanatical people (ScT) were especially vulnerable to depressive symptoms. high novelty seeking and reward dependence increased depressive symptoms when harm avoidance was high. These associations were very similar in cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis. Personality profiles help in understanding the complex associations between depressive symptoms and personality.

The Relationship between Personality and Depression in Expectant Parents

Several studies assessed the relationship between depression and dimensions of temperament/character using the Cloninger's model of personality and the TCI-R. The aim of this study is clarify the relation between depression and personality in men and women who are expecting a baby. The Temperament and Character Inventory—Revised Form and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered to 65 pregnant women and 37 husbands during the last quarter of pregnancy. ANOVAs showed that pregnant women had higher levels of depression, reward dependence, and self-transcendence than the expectant fathers. Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis in the pregnant women group showed that harm avoidance and self-directedness were significant predictors of the level of depression. In the expectant fathers, only self-directedness was a significant predictor of depression. Low TCI-R self-directedness is a strong predictor of depression in expectant parents during pregnancy regardless of gender, and high TCI-R harm avoidance is an additional predictor of depression in expectant mothers.