Temperament and character in primary insomnia

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zara de Saint Hilaire ◽  
Judith Straub ◽  
Antoine Pelissolo
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Primary Insomnia ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
Chronic Insomnia ◽  
Sleep Regulation ◽  
Temperament And Character Inventory ◽  
Serotonergic Activity ◽  
Character Inventory

AbstractRecent studies by Cloninger suggest that the temperament dimension of harm avoidance might be related to serotonergic activity. Since serotonergic mechanisms equally play a major role in sleep regulation, we decided to use Cloninger’s psychobiological model of temperament and character to assess whether there is a link between psychophysiologic insomnia and specific personality traits. Chronic insomnia is a common complaint in modern society, and it is still controversial whether insomniacs share specific personality traits. Thirty-two chronic insomniacs (<50 years) were studied. They underwent polysomnography for two consecutive nights and filled out the 226-item self-questionnaire of Temperament and Character Inventory as well as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. (1) Harm avoidance for all subscores was significantly higher in insomniac patients when compared with controls; (2) self-directedness scores were lower in insomniacs; (3) sleep latency was positively correlated to harm avoidance; (4) HA1 (anticipatory worry) was negatively correlated to REM latency. Temperament and Character Inventory is a useful tool in the investigation of chronic insomnia. Serotonergic mechanisms might explain the high incidence of harm avoidance as personality trait in psychophysiologic insomniac patients. Further studies are needed to see whether harm avoidance could be a psychological vulnerability marker for primary insomnia and be used as predictor of SSRI treatment responders.

New evidence for a pain personality? A critical review of the last 120 years of pain and personality

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brooke Naylor ◽  
Simon Boag ◽  
Sylvia Maria Gustin
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
Vicious Cycle ◽  
Fear Avoidance ◽  
Temperament And Character Inventory ◽  
The Past ◽  
Character Inventory ◽  
Personality Features ◽  
New Evidence

AbstractBackgroundPersonality traits may influence development and adjustment to ongoing pain. Over the past 120 years, there has been considerable research into the relationship between pain and personality. This paper presents new evidence for common personality traits found amongst chronic pain sufferers. In particular, it evaluates evidence for Cloninger’s biopsychosocial model of personality in distinguishing typical personality features of chronic pain sufferers. It evaluates this evidence in the context of the past 120 years of research including psychodynamic formulations, MMPI studies, personality disorder investigations, and the influence of neuroticism on chronic pain.MethodsA literature search was conducted using PubMed, Medline, PsyclNFO, SCOPUS and Cochrane library. Search terms included chronic pain, pain, personality, neuroticism, harm avoidance, self-directedness, attachment, Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R), MMPI, MMPI-2, NEO-PI, EPI, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, Millon Behavioral Health Inventory, Millon Behavioral Medicine Diagnostic, the Personality Assessment Inventory, the Locus of Control Construct and different combinations of these terms.ConclusionsRecent descriptive studies using Cloninger’s Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) suggest that higher harm avoidance and lower self-directedness may be the most distinguishing personality features of chronic pain sufferers. High harm avoidance refers to a tendency to be fearful, pessimistic, sensitive to criticism, and requiring high levels of re-assurance. Low self-directedness often manifests as difficulty with defining and setting meaningful goals, low motivation, and problems with adaptive coping. Evidence for this personality profile is found across a wide variety of chronic pain conditions including fibromyalgia, headache and migraine, temporomandibular disorder, trigeminal neuropathy, musculo-skeletal disorders and heterogeneous pain groups. Limitations are also discussed. For example, high harm avoidance is also found in those suffering anxiety and depression. While many studies control for such factors, some do not and thus future research should address such confounds carefully. The evidence is also evaluated within the context of past research into the existence of ‘a pain personality’. Psychodynamic formulations are found to be deficient in objective scientific methods. MMPI studies lack sufficient evidence to support ‘a pain personality’ and may be confounded by somatic items in the instrument. More recent neuroticism studies suggest a relationship between neuroticism and pain, particularly for adjustment to chronic pain. Personality disorders are more prevalent in chronic pain populations than non-pain samples.Clinical implicationsBecause harm avoidance reflects a tendency to developed conditioned fear responses, we suggest that higher harm avoidance may create more vulnerability to developing a fear-avoidance response to chronic pain. Furthermore, lower self-directedness may contribute to keeping a sufferer within this vicious cycle of fear, avoidance and suffering. Moreover, we suggest that harm avoidance and self-directedness are broader and more complex constructs than current clinical targets of CBT such as fear-avoidance and self-efficacy. Thus, assessing such personality traits may help to address the complexity of chronic pain presentations. For example, it may help to identify and treat sufferers more resistant to treatment, more prone to comorbidity and more vulnerable to entering the vicious cycle of chronic pain, suffering and disability.

scholarly journals Personality, mental health and demographic correlates of hoarding behaviours in a midlife sample

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet K. Spittlehouse ◽  
Esther Vierck ◽  
John F. Pearson ◽  
Peter R. Joyce
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Temperament And Character Inventory ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Character Inventory

We describe the Temperament and Character Inventory personality traits, demographic features, physical and mental health variables associated with hoarding behaviour in a random community sample of midlife participants in New Zealand. A sample of 404 midlife participants was recruited to a study of ageing. To assess hoarding behaviours participants completed the Savings Inventory-Revised (SI-R), personality was assessed by the Temperament and Character Inventory and self-reported health was measured by the Short Form-36v2 (SF-36v2). Other measures were used to assess socio-demographic variables and current mental disorders. Participants were split into four groups by SI-R total score (scores: 0–4, 5–30, 31–41 and >41). Those who scored >41 on the SI-R were classified as having pathological hoarding. Trend tests were calculated across the four hoarding groups for socio-demographic, personality, mental and physical health variables. SI-R scores ranged from 0 to 58. The prevalence of pathological hoarding was 2.5% and a further 4% reported sub-clinical symptoms of hoarding. Higher hoarding behaviour scores were related to higher Temperament and Character Inventory scores for Harm Avoidance and lower scores for Self-directedness. Persistence and Cooperativeness scores were lower too but to a lesser extent. Trend analysis revealed that those with higher hoarding behaviour scores were more likely to be single, female, unemployed, receive income support, have a lower socio-economic status, lower household income and have poorer self-reported mental health scores. Current depression rates were considerably higher in the pathological hoarding group. Increasing SI-R hoarding behaviour scores were associated with higher scores of negative affect (Harm Avoidance) and lower scores of autonomy (Self-directedness). Those with pathological hoarding or sub-clinical symptoms of hoarding also reported widespread mental and socio-economic problems. In this study it is clear to see the physical, mental and socio-economic problems experienced by those achieving the highest hoarding scores. The prevalence of pathological hoarding was 2.5%, similar to the prevalence reported by other studies. The personality traits associated with hoarding behaviours are discussed.

ABCA1 Polymorphism, a Genetic Risk Factor of Harm Avoidance

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-195
Author(s):  
Eszter Kotyuk ◽  
Viktor Biro ◽  
Julianna Bircher ◽  
Zsuzsanna Elek ◽  
Maria Sasvari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Haplotype Analysis ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
Cholesterol Homeostasis ◽  
Bonferroni Correction ◽  
Temperament And Character Inventory ◽  
Character Inventory ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
Independent Association ◽  
Related Personality

Abstract. Even though cholesterol homeostasis and self-harm behaviors have shown to be associated, gene polymorphisms of the cholesterol system have not been studied yet in the context of self-harm related personality traits. Here we present an association study between six ABCA1 polymorphisms and temperament scales measured by Cloninger’s Temperament and Character Inventory on 253 young adults. An association between ABCA1 rs4149264 and harm avoidance has been observed. This association remained significant after Bonferroni correction. Haplotype analysis confirmed an independent association between rs4149264 and harm avoidance. ABCA1, a cholesterol homeostasis gene, is a candidate gene for harm related personality traits.

scholarly journals Personality, Defense Mechanisms and Psychological Distress in Women with Fibromyalgia

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Annunziata Romeo ◽  
Agata Benfante ◽  
Giuliano Carlo Geminiani ◽  
Lorys Castelli
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Defense Mechanisms ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Defense Style ◽  
Defense Styles ◽  
Character Inventory ◽  
Psychopathological Disorders

Background: Previous studies have shown that many personality traits are associated with fibromyalgia (FM), worsening both the quality of life and psychological distress of patients. Despite the high comorbidity of psychopathological disorders in this syndrome and their association with immature defense styles, few studies have examined the defense mechanisms used by FM patients. The main aim of our study was to investigate personality traits and defense mechanisms in FM patients compared to in a healthy control group (HC). Moreover, we investigated the effect of personality traits and defense mechanisms on psychological distress in both FM and HC groups. Methods: A total of 54 women with FM and 54 healthy women completed the (1) Temperament and Character Inventory—Revised; (2) the Toronto Alexithymia Scale; (3) the Defense Style Questionnaire; and (4) the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results: The results indicated that FM patients display higher alexithymia, higher harm avoidance, lower self-directedness, lower persistence, and the higher use of a maladaptive defense style compared to HC. We found that alexithymia, harm avoidance, and maladaptive defense style are significant predictors of patients’ psychological distress. Moreover, harm avoidance and adaptive defense style significantly predicted psychological distress in the HC group. Conclusion: The present study is the first to explore the contribution of both defense mechanisms and personality characteristics on the psychological distress of FM patients. Our findings have important clinical implications and may help diagnose and treat FM patients more in depth.

scholarly journals Association between neurological soft signs, temperament and character in patients with schizophrenia and non-psychotic relatives

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana Galindo ◽  
Francisco Pastoriza ◽  
Daniel Bergé ◽  
Anna Mané ◽  
Marisol Picado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Biological Marker ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
Novelty Seeking ◽  
Temperament And Character Inventory ◽  
Neurological Soft Signs ◽  
Character Inventory ◽  
High Risk Populations ◽  
Self Transcendence

The heritability of schizophrenia and most personality traits has been well established, but the role of personality in susceptibility to schizophrenia remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to test for an association between personality traits and Neurological Soft Signs (NSS), a well-known biological marker of schizophrenia, in non-psychotic relatives of patients with schizophrenia. For this purpose, we evaluated the NSS scale and personality measured by the Temperament and Character inventory (TCI-R) in three groups of subjects: 29 patients with schizophrenia, 24 unaffected relatives and 37 controls. The results showed that patients with schizophrenia were more asocial (higher harm avoidance and lower reward dependence), more perseverative (higher persistence), and more schizotypal (lower self-directedness and cooperativeness, higher self-transcendence). The unaffected relatives showed higher harm avoidance, lower self-directedness and cooperativeness than the healthy controls. Higher NSS scores and sub-scores were found in patients and non-psychotic relatives compared with the controls. Among all the patients, total NSS scores were positively correlated with harm avoidance but negatively correlated with novelty seeking and persistence. Total NSS were also correlated with low scores on self-directedness and cooperativeness, which are indicators of personality disorder. Our results show that susceptibility to NSS and to schizophrenia are both related to individual differences in the temperament and character features in non-psychotic relatives of patients with schizophrenia. High harm avoidance, low persistence, low self-directedness and low cooperativeness contribute to both the risk of NSS and schizophrenia. These findings highlight the value of using both assessments to study high risk populations.

scholarly journals Association between neurological soft signs, temperament and character in patients with schizophrenia and non-psychotic relatives

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana Galindo ◽  
Francisco Pastoriza ◽  
Daniel Bergé ◽  
Anna Mané ◽  
Marisol Picado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Biological Marker ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
Novelty Seeking ◽  
Temperament And Character Inventory ◽  
Neurological Soft Signs ◽  
Character Inventory ◽  
High Risk Populations ◽  
Self Transcendence

The heritability of schizophrenia and most personality traits has been well established, but the role of personality in susceptibility to schizophrenia remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to test for an association between personality traits and Neurological Soft Signs (NSS), a well-known biological marker of schizophrenia, in non-psychotic relatives of patients with schizophrenia. For this purpose, we evaluated the NSS scale and personality measured by the Temperament and Character inventory (TCI-R) in three groups of subjects: 29 patients with schizophrenia, 24 unaffected relatives and 37 controls. The results showed that patients with schizophrenia were more asocial (higher harm avoidance and lower reward dependence), more perseverative (higher persistence), and more schizotypal (lower self-directedness and cooperativeness, higher self-transcendence). The unaffected relatives showed higher harm avoidance, lower self-directedness and cooperativeness than the healthy controls. Higher NSS scores and sub-scores were found in patients and non-psychotic relatives compared with the controls. Among all the patients, total NSS scores were positively correlated with harm avoidance but negatively correlated with novelty seeking and persistence. Total NSS were also correlated with low scores on self-directedness and cooperativeness, which are indicators of personality disorder. Our results show that susceptibility to NSS and to schizophrenia are both related to individual differences in the temperament and character features in non-psychotic relatives of patients with schizophrenia. High harm avoidance, low persistence, low self-directedness and low cooperativeness contribute to both the risk of NSS and schizophrenia. These findings highlight the value of using both assessments to study high risk populations.

Correlations between the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Self-Rating Depression Scale among Japanese Students

1997 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 251-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eriko Tanaka ◽  
Nobuhiko Kijima ◽  
Toshinori Kitamura
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
The Self ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Temperament And Character Inventory ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
Japanese Students ◽  
Self Rating ◽  
Character Inventory

The Temperament and Character Inventory measures four dimensions of temperament and three of character. The 125-item short version and the Self-rating Depression Scale were administered to 306 Japanese students. Their scores on the latter were significantly highly correlated with the scores on both temperament and character scales, positively correlated with Harm-Avoidance score, and negatively correlated with Self-directedness and Cooperativeness scores. It is suggested that scores on depression were related to Harm-Avoidance, particularly to fatigability, and immaturity of the autonomous self and cooperative interpersonal relationship.

scholarly journals Association between neurological soft signs, temperament and character in patients with schizophrenia and non-psychotic relatives

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liliana Galindo ◽  
Francisco Pastoriza ◽  
Daniel Bergé ◽  
Anna Mané ◽  
Marisol Picado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Biological Marker ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
Novelty Seeking ◽  
Temperament And Character Inventory ◽  
Neurological Soft Signs ◽  
Character Inventory ◽  
High Risk Populations ◽  
Self Transcendence

The heritability of schizophrenia and most personality traits has been well established, but the role of personality in susceptibility to schizophrenia remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to test for an association between personality traits and Neurological Soft Signs (NSS), a well-known biological marker of schizophrenia, in non-psychotic relatives of patients with schizophrenia. For this purpose, we evaluated the NSS scale and personality measured by the Temperament and Character inventory (TCI-R) in three groups of subjects: 29 patients with schizophrenia, 24 unaffected relatives and 37 controls. The results showed that patients with schizophrenia were more asocial (higher harm avoidance and lower reward dependence), more perseverative (higher persistence), and more schizotypal (lower self-directedness and cooperativeness, higher self-transcendence). The unaffected relatives showed higher harm avoidance, lower self-directedness and cooperativeness than the healthy controls. Higher NSS scores and sub-scores were found in patients and non-psychotic relatives compared with the controls. Among all the patients, total NSS scores were positively correlated with harm avoidance but negatively correlated with novelty seeking and persistence. Total NSS were also correlated with low scores on self-directedness and cooperativeness, which are indicators of personality disorder. Our results show that susceptibility to NSS and to schizophrenia are both related to individual differences in the temperament and character features in non-psychotic relatives of patients with schizophrenia. High harm avoidance, low persistence, low self-directedness and low cooperativeness contribute to both the risk of NSS and schizophrenia. These findings highlight the value of using both assessments to study high risk populations.

Temperament and character inventory (TCI) personality profile in metamphetamine abusers: a controlled study

2004 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ladislav Hosák ◽  
Marek Preiss ◽  
Martin Halíř ◽  
Eva Čermáková ◽  
Ladislav Csémy
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Volunteers ◽  
Harm Avoidance ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Novelty Seeking ◽  
Personality Profile ◽  
Temperament And Character Inventory ◽  
Prevention And Treatment ◽  
Character Inventory ◽  
Self Transcendence

AbstractWe applied the temperament and character inventory (TCI) personality questionnaire in 41 inpatients dependent on metamphetamine, and 35 controls. Novelty seeking, harm avoidance and self-transcendence were significantly higher, and persistence, self-directedness and cooperativeness were significantly lower in the patients than in the healthy volunteers. The detected differences may be important for prevention and treatment.

scholarly journals Personality traits and treatment outcome in obsessive-compulsive disorder

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Corchs ◽  
Fábio Corregiari ◽  
Ygor Arzeno Ferrão ◽  
Tania Takakura ◽  
Maria Eugênia Mathis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Outcome ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Temperament And Character Inventory ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Scale Scores ◽  
Character Inventory ◽  
Poor Treatment

OBJECTIVE: Comorbidity with personality disorders in obsessive-compulsive patients has been widely reported. About 40% of obsessive-compulsive patients do not respond to first line treatments. Nevertheless, there are no direct comparisons of personality traits between treatment-responsive and non-responsive patients. This study investigates differences in personality traits based on Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory scores between two groups of obsessive-compulsive patients classified according to treatment outcome: responders and non-responders. METHOD: Forty-four responsive and forty-five non-responsive obsessive-compulsive patients were selected. Subjects were considered treatment-responsive (responder group) if, after having received treatment with any conventional therapy, they had presented at least a 40% decrease in the initial Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale score, had rated "better" or "much better" on the Clinical Global Impressions scale; and had maintained improvement for at least one year. Non-responders were patients who did not achieve at least a 25% reduction in Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale scores and had less than minimal improvement on the Clinical Global Impressions scale after having received treatment with at least three selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (including clomipramine), and at least 20 hours of cognitive behavioral therapy. Personality traits were assessed using Temperament and Character Inventory. RESULTS: Non-responders scored lower in self-directedness and showed a trend to score higher in persistence than responders did. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that personality traits, especially self-directedness, are associated with poor treatment response in obsessive-compulsive patients.

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