Premorbid temperament as a predictor for remission in depression

IntroductionPersonality traits have been associated with risk for depressive disorders. Studies with premorbid measures on personality are uncommon.ObjectiveEstimate effect of premorbid personality as a predictor for remission in depressive disorders.AimTo study premorbid personality as a predictor for remission in depression in a population based sample.MethodsThe sample is based on the large Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. Temperament traits were measured at age 31 years using the Temperament and Character Inventory. At the age of 46 years depressive symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory – II (BDI). The sample included those with self-reported life-time depression history at age 46 years but not yet at age 31 years (n = 298). Temperament at age 31 years was used to predict remission (BDI≤13) at age 46 years using logistic regression analysis, with gender and educational level as confounders. Cohen's d was used as effect size measure.ResultsTwo hundred and one (67.4%) of individuals with self-reported depression were on remission at the follow-up. Low harm avoidance (total scale, and subscales anticipatory worry, shyness, and fatigability), low impulsiveness and high exploratory excitability (subscales of novelty seeking), and low sentimentality (subscale of reward dependence) predicted significantly remission with effect sizes between 0.28 and 0.45, highest effect being in harm avoidance.ConclusionsDifferent temperament traits were able to predict remission status in depression. Effect sizes were between small and moderate. Temperament may associate with treatment response in depression.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Adult temperament and childbearing over the life course

European Journal of Personality ◽

10.1002/per.749 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 151-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Markus Jokela ◽

Taina Hintsa ◽

Mirka Hintsanen ◽

Liisa Keltikangas‐Järvinen

Keyword(s):

Life Course ◽

Population Based ◽

Harm Avoidance ◽

Novelty Seeking ◽

High Reward ◽

Reward Dependence ◽

Character Inventory ◽

Temperament Traits ◽

Quadratic Effects ◽

The Life Course

Emerging evidence suggests that temperament may predict childbearing. We examined the association between four temperament traits (novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence and persistence of the Temperament and Character Inventory) and childbearing over the life course in the population‐based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study (n = 1535; 985 women, 550 men). Temperament was assessed when the participants were aged 20–35 and fertility history from adolescence to adulthood was reported by the participants at age 30–45. Discrete‐time survival analysis modelling indicated that high childbearing probability was predicted by low novelty seeking (standardized OR = 0.92; 95% confidence interval 0.88–0.97), low harm avoidance (OR = 0.90; 0.85–0.95), high reward dependence (OR = 1.09; 1.03–1.15) and low persistence (OR = 0.91; 0.87–0.96) with no sex differences or quadratic effects. These associations grew stronger with increase in numbers of children. The findings were substantially the same in a completely prospective analysis. Adjusting for education did not influence the associations. Despite its negative association with overall childbearing, high novelty seeking increased the probability of having children in participants who were not living with a partner (OR = 1.29; 1.12–1.49). These data provide novel evidence for the role of temperament in influencing childbearing, and suggest possible weak natural selection of temperament traits in contemporary humans. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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

Depression Research and Treatment ◽

10.1155/2011/431314 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Kim Josefsson ◽

Päivi Merjonen ◽

Markus Jokela ◽

Laura Pulkki-Råback ◽

Liisa Keltikangas-Järvinen

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Population Based ◽

Repeated Measurements ◽

Harm Avoidance ◽

Novelty Seeking ◽

Personality Profiles ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Character Inventory ◽

The Relationship

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 ( 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.

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The revised Temperament and Character Inventory: normative data by sex and age from a Spanish normal randomized sample

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.1481 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. e1481 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Alfonso Gutierrez-Zotes ◽

Javier Labad ◽

Lourdes Martorell ◽

Ana Gaviria ◽

Carmen Bayón ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Population Based ◽

Harm Avoidance ◽

Short Version ◽

Novelty Seeking ◽

Temperament And Character Inventory ◽

Reward Dependence ◽

Character Inventory ◽

Young Subjects ◽

Self Transcendence ◽

Univariate Analyses

Objectives.The psychometric properties regarding sex and age for the revised version of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-R) and its derived short version, the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-140), were evaluated with a randomized sample from the community.Methods.A randomized sample of 367 normal adult subjects from a Spanish municipality, who were representative of the general population based on sex and age, participated in the current study. Descriptive statistics and internal consistency according toαcoefficient were obtained for all of the dimensions and facets.T-tests and univariate analyses of variance, followed by Bonferroni tests, were conducted to compare the distributions of the TCI-R dimension scores by age and sex.Results.On both the TCI-R and TCI-140, women had higher scores for Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence and Cooperativeness than men, whereas men had higher scores for Persistence. Age correlated negatively with Novelty Seeking, Reward Dependence and Cooperativeness and positively with Harm Avoidance and Self-transcendence. Young subjects between 18 and 35 years had higher scores than older subjects in NS and RD. Subjects between 51 and 77 years scored higher in both HA and ST. The alphas for the dimensions were between 0.74 and 0.87 for the TCI-R and between 0.63 and 0.83 for the TCI-140.Conclusion.Results, which were obtained with a randomized sample, suggest that there are specific distributions of personality traits by sex and age. Overall, both the TCI-R and the abbreviated TCI-140 were reliable in the ‘good-to-excellent’ range. A strength of the current study is the representativeness of the sample.

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

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2004.04.003 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 193-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

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.

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Personality characteristics of women before and after recovery from an eating disorder

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291704002442 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 34 (8) ◽

pp. 1407-1418 ◽

Cited By ~ 127

Author(s):

KELLY L. KLUMP ◽

MICHAEL STROBER ◽

CYNTHIA M. BULIK ◽

LAURA THORNTON ◽

CRAIG JOHNSON ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Eating Disorders ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Bulimia Nervosa ◽

Normal Control ◽

Harm Avoidance ◽

Personality Characteristics ◽

Novelty Seeking ◽

Before And After ◽

Character Inventory ◽

Axis I

Background. Previous studies of personality characteristics in women with eating disorders primarily have focused on women who are acutely ill. This study compares personality characteristics among women who are ill with eating disorders, recovered from eating disorders, and those without eating or other Axis I disorder pathology.Method. Female participants were assessed for personality characteristics using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI): 122 with anorexia nervosa (AN; 77 ill, 45 recovered), 279 with bulimia nervosa (BN; 194 ill, 85 recovered), 267 with lifetime histories of both anorexia and bulimia nervosa (AN+BN; 194 ill, 73 recovered), 63 with eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS; 31 ill, 32 recovered), and 507 without eating or Axis I disorder pathology.Results. Women ill with all types of eating disorders exhibited several TCI score differences from control women, particularly in the areas of novelty-seeking, harm avoidance, self-directedness, and cooperativeness. Interestingly, women recovered from eating disorders reported higher levels of harm avoidance and lower self-directedness and cooperativeness scores than did normal control women.Conclusions. Women with eating disorders in both the ill and recovered state show higher levels of harm avoidance and lower self-directedness and cooperativeness scores than normal control women. Although findings suggest that disturbances may be trait-related and contribute to the disorders' pathogenesis, additional research with more representative community controls, rather than our pre-screened, normal controls, is needed to confirm these impressions.

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Personality dimensions and drug of choice: A descriptive study using Cloninger's temperament and character inventory revised

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.1016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S298-S299

Author(s):

G. Hurtado ◽

G. Mateu ◽

R. Martinez ◽

A. Farre ◽

J. Marti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Personality Disorder ◽

Drug Users ◽

Harm Avoidance ◽

Novelty Seeking ◽

Personality Dimension ◽

Personality Dimensions ◽

Drug Of Choice ◽

Reward Dependence ◽

Cocaine Users ◽

Competing Interest

Personality dimensions related with drug use are novelty seeking, impulsivity and harm avoidance. Studies predicting drug of choice over personality variables are controversial.ObjectiveTo describe personality profile of drug users in relation to substance of choice.AimsTo know personality dimension differences according to drug used.MethodsCloninger's TCI-R was administered to 218 patients in a dual diagnosis unit.SPSS was applied.ResultsOf the patients, 33.94% had personality disorder. Principal substances used were alcohol, cocaine and cannabis.Most of drug users had normal scores in each dimension. No high scores were found in reward dependence, self-directedness and cooperativeness with any drug.High scores were observed for novelty seeking in 42.9% of timulants users; for arm avoidance in a quarter of cocaine, alcohol and methadone users and for persistence in 18.2% of hypnotics users.Low scores were observed for reward dependence in 45% of heroine and hypnotics users; for persistence in 50% of methadone and 32% of cocaine users; for self-directedness in most of types of drug users and for cooperativeness in up to 50% in heroine, hypnotics, stimulants and cocaine users.Statistical significant differences were observed for cocaine use and high novelty seeking and low cooperation; for non cannabis use and high harm avoidance; for non anfetamine use and low scores in reward dependence; for opiate use and low self-directedness.ConclusionsMost of patients had normal scores in the different dimensions.Presence of comorbid personality disorder led us to consider the results with caution.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Epistatic effect of genes from the dopamine and serotonin systems on the temperament traits of Novelty Seeking and Harm Avoidance

Molecular Psychiatry ◽

10.1038/sj.mp.4001005 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 448-450 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

S Van Gestel ◽

T Forsgren ◽

S Claes ◽

J Del-Favero ◽

C M van Duijn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Epistatic Effect ◽

Harm Avoidance ◽

Novelty Seeking ◽

Temperament Traits

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Oxytocin secretion in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: Investigation of its relationships to temperament personality dimensions

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.01.317 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. S161-S162

Author(s):

M. Nigro ◽

A.M. Monteleone ◽

L. Steardo ◽

G. Patriciello ◽

V. Di Maso ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anorexia Nervosa ◽

Bulimia Nervosa ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Novelty Seeking ◽

Personality Dimensions ◽

Character Inventory ◽

Underweight Patients ◽

Competing Interest ◽

First Time

IntroductionSome temperament characteristics of personality seem to be modulated by oxytocin. Patients suffering from eating disorders (EDs) display aberrant personality traits.Objectives and aimsWe investigated the relationships between plasma oxytocin levels and personality dimensions of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) and compared them to those of healthy controls.MethodsPlasma oxytocin levels were measured in 23 women with AN, 27 women with BN and 19 healthy controls and assessed their personality traits by means of the Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R).ResultsAN patients showed plasma levels of the hormone significantly lower than BN and healthy controls. In healthy women, plasma oxytocin levels resulted significantly correlated negatively with novelty seeking scores and positively with both harm avoidance (HA) scores and the attachment subscale scores of the reward dependence: these correlations explained 82% of the variability in circulating oxytocin. In BN patients, plasma oxytocin resulted negatively correlated with HA, whereas no significant correlations emerged in AN patients.ConclusionsThese findings confirm a dysregulation of oxytocin secretion in AN but not in BN and show, for the first time, that the association of circulating oxytocin to patients’ temperament traits is totally lost in underweight patients with AN and partially lost or even inverted in women with BN. These findings suggest a role of oxytocin in certain deranged behaviours of ED patients, which are influenced by the subjects’ personality traits.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Temperament profile and its association with the vulnerability to smartphone addiction of medical students in Indonesia

10.1101/536474 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Enjeline Hanafi ◽

Kristiana Siste ◽

Tjhin Wiguna ◽

Irmia Kusumadewi ◽

Martina Wiwie Nasrun

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Simple Random Sampling ◽

Harm Avoidance ◽

Smartphone Addiction ◽

Novelty Seeking ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

High Exposure ◽

Substance Addiction ◽

Character Inventory ◽

Smartphone Use

AbstractTemperament profiles of an individual with high novelty seeking and low harm avoidance have been reported to be related to substance addiction, but smartphone addiction could be different from substance addiction. Medical students have high exposure to smartphone use. Screening their risk of smartphone addiction based on the temperament profile may help in deciding best prevention approach. This research aimed to examine the temperament profile and its association with vulnerability to smartphone addiction of medical students in Jakarta, Indonesia. The research was conducted with cross sectional design and simple random sampling. The Temperament and Character Inventory and the Smartphone Addiction Scale were used to measure desired outcomes. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the relationship between demographic factors, pattern of smartphone use, temperament type, and vulnerability to smartphone addiction. Of the 185 samples, most subjects have low novelty seeking, high reward dependence, and high harm avoidance. The average smartphone usage in a day was 7.94 hours (SD 3.92) with the initial age of smartphone usage was 7.58 years (SD 2.43). The respondents used smartphone for communication and accessing social media. High harm avoidance temperament was significantly associated with risk of smartphone addiction with OR 2.035; 95% CI 1.119 to 3.701). This study shows that smartphone addiction has similarities with other behavior addictions. Harm avoidance temperament is associated with the risk of smartphone addiction. Screening on risk of smartphone addiction based on temperament type should be done on medical students.

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Temperament and Eating Attitudes in an Adolescent Community Sample: A Brief Report

Advances in Psychiatry ◽

10.1155/2014/749738 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2014 ◽

pp. 1-3

Author(s):

Enrica Marzola ◽

Secondo Fassino ◽

Federico Amianto ◽

Giovanni Abbate-Daga

Keyword(s):

High School Students ◽

Community Sample ◽

Eating Attitudes ◽

Harm Avoidance ◽

Novelty Seeking ◽

Temperament And Character Inventory ◽

School Students ◽

Food Frequency ◽

Character Inventory ◽

The Relationship

Objective. Temperament traits like high harm avoidance (HA) have been proposed as putative risk factors for the development of eating disorders (EDs). We aimed at studying the relationship between temperament and eating attitudes on a large community sample of adolescents. Method. We recruited 992 high school students aged 14–18. In addition to measuring body mass index (BMI), participants were asked to complete the temperament and character inventory and the food frequency questionnaire. Results. Sixty-two percent of the sample reported overeating, 22.8% reported normal eating, and 15.2% reported under eating. Under and normal eaters had higher BMI than that of over eaters. Harm avoidance was found to be significantly higher in those participants with lower eating intakes whilst novelty seeking was found to be higher in over eaters. Conclusion. An interesting association between temperament (high HA) and food approach (under eating) emerged. Longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate whether these traits represent a risk factor for the development of EDs.

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