Low Psychoticism Research Articles

Influence of the typology and timing of childhood trauma in psychoticism.

Child maltreatment (CM) is associated with psychosis; however little is known about the frequency, type, and timing of abuse in the personality pathology domain of psychoticism (PSY) in the DSM-5. The purpose of this study was to analyze childhood trauma typology and frequency according to gender and to identify sensitive periods of susceptibility to CM in women with high PSY. The Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology Exposure (MACE) scale was used to evaluate the frequency, severity and timing of each type of maltreatment. The full sample consisted of 83 participants with different psychiatric diagnoses. Psychoticism was assessed with the DSM-5 Personality Inventory (PID-5). To identify the differences in CM exposure between the PSY+ (high psychoticism) and PSY- (low psychoticism) groups, the Mann-Whitney U test, the chi square test and random forest (RF) test were used. Comparing PSY + and PSY-, revealed gender differences in the impact of abuse, with highly frequent and severe types of abuse, in women. In women, PSY + and PSY-, were differentiated especially in non-verbal emotional abuse, peer physical bullying and parental verbal abuse. Several periods with a major peak at age seven followed by peaks at age 17 and 12 years old were identified. Increased exposure to CM occurs in women with PSY+. A sensitivity to CM exposure during early childhood and late adolescence could be a risk factor for psychoticism in women.

Women Victims of Intimate Partner Violence and Intimate Partner Homicide: A Typology Based on Victimization Variables.

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) and intimate partner homicide against women (IPHAW) are multidimensional phenomena. The aim of this study was to identify typologies of Spanish IPHAW and IPVAW victims, based on the differences between their characteristics and the determinants of aggression. The sample consisted of 381 cases from the Spanish Integral Monitoring System in Cases of Gender Violence. The instrument used was a semi-structured interview. Results showed differences between IPHAW and IPVAW victims, and latent class analysis suggested a three-profile solution: 1-fatal victims, with low neuroticism, low isolation, and feelings of loneliness, less reconciliation with the aggressor, lower perception of risk and low suicidal ideation; 2-non-fatal victims, with the loss of a loved one and the role of caregiver as stressors, low psychoticism and alcohol abuse, high feelings of loneliness, risk perception, and suicidal ideation; 3-mixed profile, with high neuroticism and psychoticism, alcohol abuse, isolation, and greater reconciliations with the aggressor, and absence of bereavement and caregiver role as stressors. Knowing the differences between IPHAW and IPVAW victims allows the design of more specific instruments for risk assessment and the design of more individualized prevention and treatment programs. This also facilitates police work in identifying victims and deploying more intense protection measures.

Research on the Application of Psychometric Assessment in the Recruitment of College Teachers

To investigate the impact of the use of psychometric assessment in recruitment, the SCL-90 and EPQ personality scales, interviews and surveys were used to test 81 applicants for the selection of talented individuals with sound psychological qualities and personalities. According to the data analysis, recruits were characterized by good mental health, typically low psychoticism and typically low neuroticism, and there was no significant difference in the number of internal and external orientations between recruits and non-recruits. The use of psychometric assessment in talent recruitment can help select the right people more efficiently and reduce recruitment risk, but this work still needs to be improved.

Maternal personality and postpartum mental disorders in Japan: the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study

Personality has been shown to predict postpartum depressive symptoms (PDS) assessed by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). However, existing studies have not considered the underlying symptom dimensions in the EPDS. We analyzed data from 15,012 women who participated in the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study. Personality was assessed in middle pregnancy using the short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised. PDS were defined as EPDS score ≥ 9 at 1 month after delivery. The EPDS items were further divided into three dimensions: depressed mood, anxiety, and anhedonia. Multiple analyses were conducted to examine the associations of each personality scale with PDS and three dimensions in the EPDS, adjusting for age, parity, mode of delivery, education, income, and social isolation. The prevalence of PDS assessed by the EPDS at 1 month after delivery was 13.1%. Higher neuroticism scores were associated with PDS (odds ratio [OR], 2.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.48 to 2.79) and all three dimensions (all p < 0.001). Lower extraversion scores were associated with PDS (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.78) and all three dimensions (all p < 0.001). Lower psychoticism scores were associated with PDS (OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.85 to 0.94) and anxiety (p < 0.001), but not with depressed mood (p = 0.20) or anhedonia (p = 0.92). In conclusion, higher neuroticism and lower extraversion were associated with PDS and the three underlying dimensions in the EPDS, while lower psychoticism was associated with anxiety, but not with depressed mood or anhedonia.

Illness Perception, Personality Traits and Obsessions in Healthcare Employees After Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

Objective: This study aimed to examine the relationship between illness perception, avoidance behavior, perception of obsession and personality traits in healthcare workers after the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: An online survey was conducted with 652 healthcare professionals in May 2020 to assess their perceptions of obsession and related factors. Sociodemographic data form, COVID-19 Disease Perception Scale, COVID-19 Avoidance Attitudes Scale, Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Questionnaire and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire were used in the study. Results: Significant predictors of COVID-19-related contagiousness perception were young age (β=-0.235, p&lt;0.001), low psychoticism (β=-0.091, p=0.018), and high cleansing obsessions (β=0.127, p=0.004). It has been found that individuals with high extroverted personality traits (β=0.123, p=0.002) and more intense ruminative thoughts (β=0.117, p=0.003) have more cognitive avoidance from COVID-19, and those in the young age group (β=-0.184, p&lt;0.001) with high education level (β=0.128, p=0.001) and intensive cleaning obsessions (β=0.090, p=0.030) have a behavioral avoidance attitude from COVID-19. Conclusion: In the course of the COVID 19 pandemic, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms may be a response to protecting yourself and others from the virus. Our data support the suggestion that public health advice during pandemics should include mental health campaigns aimed at reducing the psychological effects of pandemics.

Identification of psychological correlates of dietary misreporting under laboratory and free-living environments.

Errors inherent in self-reported measures of energy intake (EI) are substantial and well documented, but correlates of misreporting remain unclear. Therefore, potential predictors of misreporting were examined. In Study One, fifty-nine individuals (BMI = 26·1 (sd 3·8) kg/m2, age = 42·7 (sd 13·6) years, females = 29) completed a 14-d stay in a residential feeding behaviour suite where eating behaviour was continuously monitored. In Study Two, 182 individuals (BMI = 25·7 (sd 3·9) kg/m2, age = 42·4 (sd 12·2) years, females = 96) completed two consecutive days in a residential feeding suite and five consecutive days at home. Misreporting was directly quantified by comparing covertly measured laboratory weighed intakes (LWI) with self-reported EI (weighed dietary record (WDR), 24-h recall, 7-d diet history, FFQ). Personal (age, sex and %body fat) and psychological traits (personality, social desirability, body image, intelligence quotient and eating behaviour) were used as predictors of misreporting. In Study One, those with lower psychoticism (P = 0·009), openness to experience (P = 0·006) and higher agreeableness (P = 0·038) reduced EI on days participants knew EI was being measured to a greater extent than on covert days. Isolated associations existed between personality traits (psychoticism and openness to experience), eating behaviour (emotional eating) and differences between the LWI and self-reported EI, but these were inconsistent between dietary assessment techniques and typically became non-significant after accounting for multiplicity of comparisons. In Study Two, sex was associated with differences between LWI and the WDR (P = 0·009), 24-h recall (P = 0·002) and diet history (P = 0·050) in the laboratory, but not home environment. Personal and psychological correlates of misreporting identified displayed no clear pattern across studies or dietary assessment techniques and had little utility in predicting misreporting.

The personality traits of left-behind children in China: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACTLeft-behind children (LBC) account for more than one in five Chinese children and more frequently exhibit some personality deviations as a result of being separated from their parents. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to systematically review the personality traits of LBC using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). Relevant studies were identified by searching various electronic databases, and 39 articles that contained 12,494 LBC and 10,381 non-LBC were ultimately included in this meta-analysis. Subgroup analyses by grades and sex were conducted to study the personality deviation rate and personality factor scores in LBC.The results indicated that the personality deviation rates of LBC were higher than those of non-LBC. LBC in middle school had higher personality deviation rates than LBC in elementary school. LBC in elementary school had higher neuroticism scores and psychoticism scores than non-LBC. In addition, the analysis of LBC in elementary school showed that boys had higher neuroticism scores but lower psychoticism scores than girls. In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicates that LBC, particularly those in middle school, exhibit higher rates of personality deviation. Meanwhile, regarding to LBC in elementary school, boys are more likely to exhibit emotional instability whereas girls are more likely to show a tendency toward psychoticism.

Five-factor personality traits in priests

Several studies have demonstrated that religiosity is associated with specific personality traits, such as high Agreeableness/Conscientiousness or low Psychoticism. However, this evidence emerged by investigating active churchgoers with high religious practice or clerical individuals using Eysenck's taxonomy. This study explores, for the first time, personality profiles in Priests ordained by the Roman Catholic Church (N=200) using the Five-Factor Model of personality in an Italian population. Priests were compared with demographically matched non-clerical with high religious practices (HRP, N=301) and non-religious men (NR, N=213).Analysis of variance demonstrated that both Priests and HPR men shared similar personality traits, such as higher Agreeableness, lower Extraversion–excitement seeking and Openness, with respect to NR. However, Priests have distinct traits, such as the highest values of Agreeableness and the lowest Neuroticism sub-facets of angry hostility and impulsiveness, in comparison with other groups. Finally, although high Conscientiousness characterized both the Priest and HRP groups, surprisingly, we found that this psychological trait was only more evident in the latter group. Differences in religious order would seem to influence this trait.This study demonstrates that Priests' personality differ from those of HRP men, although some important personality (sub-) facets are similar.

Predictor variables of happiness and its connection with risk and protective factors for health.

Great thinkers, philosophers, scientists, and artists from History have often been concerned about one of the most important elements of life: happiness. The study had four goals: (1) To analyze possible differences in feelings of happiness as a function of sex and age; (2) To explore the relations of happiness with risk factors (psychopathological symptoms, behavior problems) and protective factors (self-concept-self-esteem, cooperative behavior, social skills) for health; (3) To identify predictor variables of happiness; and (4) To explore whether self-esteem mediates the relationship between happiness and psychopathological symptoms. The sample comprised 286 adolescents (14–16 years old). The study used a descriptive, correlational, and cross-sectional methodology. Seven assessment instruments were administered. The ANOVAs confirm that there are no sex differences, but happiness decreases as age increases. Pearson coefficients show that adolescents with more feelings of happiness had fewer psychopathological symptoms (somatization, obsession–compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, psychoticism…), fewer behavioral problems (school-academic, antisocial behavior, shyness-withdrawal, psychopathological, psychosomatic), high social adaptation, high self-concept/self-esteem, many cooperative behaviors, many appropriate social skills, and few negative social skills (inappropriate assertiveness, impulsiveness, jealousy-withdrawal). Multiple regression analysis identified five variables predicting happiness: high self-concept, few symptoms of depression, many cooperative behaviors, high self-esteem, and low psychoticism. Results showed a partial mediational effect of self-esteem in the relation between happiness and psychopathological symptoms. The discussion focuses on the importance of implementing programs to promote feelings of happiness, as well as protective factors for health (self-esteem, cooperation…).

Music and Suicidality

In recent years, the question whether personal suicidality is reflected in individual music preferences has been discussed. We assessed associations of preferred music genres and cumulative exposure to and rating of 50 preselected songs, including 25 suicide-related songs, with suicide risk factors in an online survey with 943 participants. Preferences for sad music were associated with high psychoticism, while fanship of music genres with predominantly joyful contents was linked to low psychoticism. There was a dose-response relationship of positive rating of suicide songs with high life satisfaction and low hopelessness. Music preferences partly reflect suicide risk factors, but enjoyment of suicide songs is negatively associated with risk factors of suicide, which may indicate a psychological defense mechanism against suicidal impulses.

Solving the puzzle of why Finns have the highest IQ, but one of the lowest number of Nobel prizes in Europe

Finland has been noted to perform consistently very well in the international PISA assessments for many years, but it also has a relatively low per capita number of Nobel Prize winners. We draw upon a large body of proxy data and direct evidence, including the first ever use of RTs to calculate the Finnish IQ and the first ever use of the WAIS IV and PISA scores in the same capacity. Based on these data, we hypothesize that Finns perform so consistently well in PISA because they have a higher IQ overall than other European countries and exhibit a specialized slow life history strategy characterized by high Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, and low Psychoticism and Extraversion. Most of these traits predict educational success but all would suppress genius and creativity amongst this population. We connect the present distribution of phenotypic traits amongst the Finnish population with evolutionary change starting in the Pleistocene, accelerating in the Holocene, and continuing into the present day. We argue that this profile explains why Finns are relatively poorly represented in terms of science Nobel laureates.

Relationship between personality traits and self-concept in high school students

In adolescence, there are significant changes in behavior, which are largely determined by personality traits and perceptions which adolescents have about themselves. The main objective of this study was to determine the relationship between basic personality dimensions of Eysenck model and certain aspects of self-concept among high school students. The sample consisted of 200 students in the second and fourth year of high school. The research results confirm the existence of significant correlation between all three investigated dimensions of personality and certain aspects of self-concept in adolescence. Thus, it was determined that neuroticism is positively associated with fear of negative evaluation, externality and low social desirability and negatively with loneliness. Extraversion is positively related to persistence, self-esteem and general life satisfaction, and negatively with the perceived incompetence, loneliness, fear of negative evaluation and externality, and low psychoticism is positively associated with persistence, self-esteem and general satisfaction, and negatively with the perceived incompetence and loneliness.

Personality dimensions and religiosity among Kuwaiti Muslim college students

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between Eysenck’s personality dimensions and religiosity. A sample of 227 Kuwaiti Muslim undergraduates completed the Arabic versions of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and the Muslim Attitude towards Religiosity Scale. Men obtained significantly higher mean scores on psychoticism than did their female counterparts and the effect size was medium. Religiosity significantly correlated with psychoticism (negative) and lie (positive) among men and women. In addition, religiosity significantly correlated with extraversion (positive) and neuroticism (negative) in women. The only predictor of religiosity was low psychoticism in men and women. The results were discussed in the light of religion of Islam. Most results of the present study reflect previous findings using participants from other religions.

The Personality Characteristics of Anglican Clergymen and Clergywomen: The Search for Sex Differences

The aim of this study is to compare the personality profile of Anglican clergymen and clergywomen with the general population profile. Data were provided by 235 clergymen and 54 clergywomen serving in the Church in Wales who completed the short-form Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. These data demonstrated that the usual sex differences found in the population as a whole were not reproduced among the clergy, since there were no significant differences between clergymen and clergywomen in terms of extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism and the lie scale. Compared with the population norms, the two key differences were that clergymen recorded significantly lower psychoticism scores (closer to the female norms) and clergywomen recorded significantly lower neuroticism scores (closer to the male norms). The implications of these findings are discussed for the development of the ministry of men and women in the church.

Relation Between Quality of Attachment and Psychoticism in College Students

The aim of the current research was to investigate the relationship between quality of attachment and psychoticism in Tehran and Iran Medical Sciences Universities. To accomplish the stated goal 455 students from Tehran and Iran Medical Sciences Universities were selected by means of proportional sampling procedure. The Revised Adult Attachment Scale (Collins, 1996) and Scale of psychoticism in Symptom Checklist90-Revised (Derogatis et al., 1973) were administered on them. Analysis of data using a multiple regression analysis revealed that the magnitude of psychoticism can be predicted from the quality of student's attachment. Moreover, data revealed that students who had a depend attachment (dependability of others) were lower in psychoticism than students who had an anxious attachment. Authors concluded that depend attachment were associated with lower psychoticism in college students who were studying in Medical Sciences Universities.

Relations between quality of image of God and psychoticism in parents of exceptional children

Since parents of exceptional children are exposed to the variety of child raising stressors that impact their psychological functioning, determining factors associated with psychological health of these individuals is an important research endeavour. The aim of the current research was to investigate the relationship between image of God and psychoticism in parents of exceptional children. To accomplish the stated goal 167 parents of exceptional children were selected by means of proportional sampling procedure. The Image of God Inventory (IOG, Lawrence, 1997) and Scale of Psychoticism in Symptom Checklist90-R (SCL-90R, Deragotis et al., 1973) were administered on them. Analysis of data revealed that the magnitude of psychoticism can be predicted from the quality of images of God in parents of exceptional children. Moreover, data revealed that parents of exceptional children who had a positive image of God were lower in psychoticism than parents of exceptional children who had a negative image of God. Authors concluded that positive image of God were associated with lower psychoticism in parents of exceptional children. Theoretical implication and practical application of the finding are discussed in the original paper.

Personality and religious orientation: shifting sands or firm foundations?

Beit-Hallahmi and Argyle concluded that individual differences in religiosity are inversely related to psychoticism but independent of extraversion and neuroticism. The aim of the present study is to test the generalizability of that conclusion within the context of Eysenck's dimensional model of personality by distinguishing between different conceptualizations of religiosity and by distinguishing between different overall levels of religiosity in the sample. A total of 517 undergraduate students in Wales completed the short-form of the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire together with the New Indices of Religious Orientation. The data demonstrated that in the sample as a whole, intrinsic religious orientation was associated with low psychoticism scores, but independent of extraversion scores and neuroticism scores; that extrinsic religious orientation was associated with low psychoticism scores and high neuroticism scores, but independent of extraversion scores; and that quest religious orientation was associated with high neuroticism scores and low extraversion scores, but independent of psychoticism scores. The pattern of relationships changed, however, when separate analyses were conducted among weekly churchgoers and among individuals who never attended church. These data suggest that the pattern of relationship between personality and religion may vary both according to the form of religiosity assessed and according to the samples being studied. The conclusion is drawn that Beit-Hallahmi and Argyle's conclusion is misleading unless nuanced in terms of the aspects of religiosity and the populations to which it applies.

Pre-attentive operation and psychoticism: A P50 event related potential study

On the stipulation that “a theory of personality must be testable” (H. Eysenck), along with the view that the P50 component of the event-related potentials (ERP) indexes pre-attentive operation that reflects thalamocortical and/or reticular activating system (RAS) processes, the present study investigates the association of Eysenck’s personality dimensions, namely psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism, and lie, with P50 ERP. Sixty volunteers were analyzed (29 males). P50 waveforms were measured through 26 electrode leads during the initiation, inhibition and reproduction condition of the Hayling Sentence Completion test. Extraversion, neuroticism, psychoticism, and lie dimensions were measured by means of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that the low psychoticism group had significantly greater amplitudes than the groups with medium and high scores. The differences among the groups reached higher levels of significance in the initiation and the inhibition condition than in the reproduction condition. In the inhibition condition significant differences were located at the frontal leads, whereas in the initiation condition they were scattered throughout the electrode leads. The associations of extraversion, neuroticism and lie scale with P50 were not significant. These results suggest that psychoticism may be related to pre-attentive operation mediated by thalamocortical and/or RAS processes.

Personality and the Happiness of Others: A Study among 13‐ to 15‐Year‐Old Adolescents

This study was designed to assess the level of concern for the happiness of others among a sample of 13‐ to 15‐year‐old adolescents in England and Wales (N = 3,095) and to test the theory that concern for the happiness of others occupies a different psychological space (within Eysenck's three‐dimensional model of personality) from the space occupied by personal happiness. The data demonstrated a high level of concern for the happiness of others, with 84 per cent of the adolescents saying that, “It is important to me to make other people happy”. While high levels of personal happiness are generally shown to be associated with low neuroticism and high extraversion (stable extraversion), these data demonstrated that high levels of concern for the happiness of others tend to be associated with high neuroticism, high extraversion, high social conformity, and low psychoticism.

Psychological Correlates of Substance Abuse in Non-psychiatric and Psychiatric Populations

Background: Personality and other psychological variables have been suggested to be closely related to drug abuse. An understanding of such relationship could be beneficial in the management of patients with substance abuse. Aim: The study investigated psychological correlates of substance abuse psychiatric patients. Method: One hundred and six (106) psychiatric patients from Uyo prisons and psychiatric hospital in Eket and 110 non-psychiatric others from Eket and Uyo served as participants. The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Neuroticism and Psychoticism scales) and the Psychological Correlates of Substance Abuse Index developed by the researchers were used in the study. Three hypotheses were tested. A survey and correlational design was adopted, while the Chi- Square was used for significance testing in statistical analysis. Result: Findings in the comparison of opposite populations indicate a statistically significant difference between psychiatric and nonpsychiatric patients on substance abuse in relation to psychological factors (X2 27.23, df = 1, P<0.001). Also, the hypothesis predicting a statistically significant difference on substance abuse between the high and low neuroticism groups was found to be significant (X2 = 6.66, df= 1, P<0.01). However, the hypothesis on the influence of psychoticism on substance abuse was not supported as there was no statistically significant difference between the low and high psychoticism groups on substance abuse. Conclusion: It is recommended that there should always be proper screening of patients on personality and behavioural traits before admission or placement in public institutions in the same way that governments and families should help to restrict the use of psychoactive substances. The paper concluded that there should be a coordinated legislation against drug use and abuse.