Measurement of the personality characteristics of ecstasy users by the Cloninger's temperament and character inventory

Background. Support has been found for high harm avoidance as general vulnerability trait for depression and decreased self-directedness (SD) as central state-related personality change. Additional personality characteristics could be present in psychotic depression (PD). Increased noradrenergic activation in PD predicts the involvement of reward dependence (RD).Methods. The data during the acute episode and after full remission from the same subjects, that we used before, were reanalyzed. The dependence of the 7 dimensions of the Temperament and Character Inventory version 9 on PD, three other subcategories of depression, and a group of normal controls was tested by MANCOVA.Results. Low RD at both time points, and low Cooperativeness during the acute episode, were found as additional characteristics of PD.Conclusion. The combination of two premorbid temperaments, high HA and low RD, and the development of a state-related reduction of two character functions, SD and CO, may be the precondition for the development of combined depressive and psychotic psychopathology.

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Temperament, Character, and Eating Attitudes in Japanese College Women

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.2003.92.3c.1162 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 92 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 1162-1168

Author(s):

Masahito Tomotake ◽

Takashi Harada ◽

Yasuhito Ishimoto ◽

Tetsuya Tanioka ◽

Tetsuro Ohmori

Keyword(s):

College Women ◽

Japanese Version ◽

Eating Attitudes ◽

Harm Avoidance ◽

Personality Characteristics ◽

Temperament And Character Inventory ◽

Eating Attitudes Test ◽

School Of Nursing ◽

Character Inventory ◽

Food Preoccupation

The present study investigated associations between dimensions of personality characteristics and eating attitudes in Japanese college women. 91 college women with a mean age of 20.7 yr. ( SD ! 2.3 yr.), attending a School of Nursing or a School for Kindergarten Teachers, voluntarily responded to the Japanese version of the Temperament and Character Inventory and the Eating Attitudes Test. A significant positive correlation was found between the scores on the Temperament and Character Inventory subscale of Harm Avoidance and the Eating Attitudes Test total scores (Spearman ρ = .24, p ! .02) and the scores on the Eating Attitudes Test subscale of Food Preoccupation (Spearman ρ = .33, p ! .002). The scores on the Temperament and Character Inventory subscale of Self-directedness showed significant negative correlations with the Eating Attitudes Test total scores (Spearman ρ = –.35, p ! .001) and the scores on the Eating Attitudes Test subscales of Dieting (Spearman ρ = –.29, p ! .005) and Food Preoccupation (Spearman ρ = –.43, p = .0001). The present results suggest that Japanese college women who score high on Harm Avoidance and low on Self-directedness may be more likely to develop inappropriate eating attitudes.

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