Childhood trauma moderates morphometric associations between orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala: implications for pathological personality traits

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Nadia Bounoua ◽  
Rickie Miglin ◽  
Jeffrey M. Spielberg ◽  
Curtis L. Johnson ◽  
Naomi Sadeh
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Childhood Trauma ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Trauma Exposure ◽  
Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Emotional Dysregulation ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
Pathological Personality Traits

Abstract Background Research has demonstrated that chronic stress exposure early in development can lead to detrimental alterations in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)–amygdala circuit. However, the majority of this research uses functional neuroimaging methods, and thus the extent to which childhood trauma corresponds to morphometric alterations in this limbic-cortical network has not yet been investigated. This study had two primary objectives: (i) to test whether anatomical associations between OFC–amygdala differed between adults as a function of exposure to chronic childhood assaultive trauma and (ii) to test how these environment-by-neurobiological effects relate to pathological personality traits. Methods Participants were 137 ethnically diverse adults (48.1% female) recruited from the community who completed a clinical diagnostic interview, a self-report measure of pathological personality traits, and anatomical MRI scans. Results Findings revealed that childhood trauma moderated bilateral OFC–amygdala volumetric associations. Specifically, adults with childhood trauma exposure showed a positive association between medial OFC volume and amygdalar volume, whereas adults with no childhood exposure showed the negative OFC–amygdala structural association observed in prior research with healthy samples. Examination of the translational relevance of trauma-related alterations in OFC–amygdala volumetric associations for disordered personality traits revealed that trauma exposure moderated the association of OFC volume with antagonistic and disinhibited phenotypes, traits characteristic of Cluster B personality disorders. Conclusions The OFC–amygdala circuit is a potential anatomical pathway through which early traumatic experiences perpetuate emotional dysregulation into adulthood and confer risk for personality pathology. Results provide novel evidence of divergent neuroanatomical pathways to similar personality phenotypes depending on early trauma exposure.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Traumatic Experiences in South Korean Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 3959
Author(s):  
Sunah Kim ◽  
Go-Un Kim ◽  
Suin Park
Keyword(s):  
Childhood Trauma ◽  
Public Health Practice ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Traumatic Experience ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
Unexpected Death ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Korean Adults ◽  
Gender And Age

Although a variety of traumatic experiences can impact health over the lifetime, little is known about the prevalence of such experiences in South Korea. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequencies of traumatic experiences and their differences by gender and age. South Korean adults (N = 3000) aged 19–65 years completed a self-report survey assessing childhood and adulthood trauma and sociodemographic characteristics. Overall, 79.5% of the participants reported at least one traumatic experience in adulthood. Unemployment or job loss and academic or work difficulties were commonly reported. The most distressing adulthood trauma was the unexpected death of a loved one, followed by diseases in loved ones. Childhood trauma was higher in males than in females. In males, childhood trauma was higher at a younger age, but in females, it was higher at an older age. Adulthood trauma was higher in females than in males and at older ages for both males and females. The current findings demonstrate the differences in traumatic experiences by gender and age in the South Korean general population. These results could help improve assessment of and targeted intervention for psychological trauma through trauma-informed strategies in public health practice.

scholarly journals Pathological Personality Traits and Utilitarian Moral Judgments

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virgil Zeigler-Hill ◽  
Avi Besser ◽  
Sinead Cronin ◽  
Jennifer K. Vrabel
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Personality Trait ◽  
Negative Affectivity ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Community Members ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Pathological Personality Traits

Recent research has highlighted important individual differences in moral judgment. The present study extends these findings by examining the associations between pathological personality traits and utilitarian moral judgments. This was accomplished by asking 2,121 Israeli community members to complete self-report measures concerning their pathological personality traits and evaluate the acceptability of utilitarian moral judgments in various sacrificial dilemmas (is it acceptable to intentionally kill one person in order to save several other people?). The results showed that the pathological personality traits of antagonism and disinhibition were positively associated with the endorsement of personal utilitarian moral judgments (i.e., those decisions requiring the individual to directly inflict harm on the would-be sacrificed individual), whereas negative affectivity was negatively associated with personal utilitarian moral judgments. Antagonism was the only pathological personality trait associated with impersonal utilitarian moral judgments (i.e., those decisions that did not require the individual to directly inflict harm on the would-be sacrificed individual). Discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for understanding the associations between pathological personality traits and moral judgments.

scholarly journals MCMI-III Personality Disorders, Traits, and Profiles in Adult ADHD Outpatients

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 830-839
Author(s):  
Francesco Oliva ◽  
Chiara Mangiapane ◽  
Gabriele Nibbio ◽  
Alberto Portigliatti Pomeri ◽  
Giuseppe Maina
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Adult Adhd ◽  
Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Personality Profiles ◽  
Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory ◽  
High Prevalence

Objective: To assess prevalence of personality traits and disorders according to Millon’s evolution-based model and to identify the most representative personality profiles among adult ADHD outpatients. Method: Personality traits and disorders were evaluated using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory–III (MCMI-III) and an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in a consecutive sample of adult ADHD outpatients ( N = 70) diagnosed by the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale–version 1.1 (ASRS-v1.1) and the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults (DIVA 2.0). Results: More than half of our sample (57.1%) showed at least one personality disorder (PD). The most prevalent PDs were paranoid, schizotypal and negativistic (18.6% for all three PDs), depressive (17.1%), and sadistic (11.4%). No patient had a borderline PD. The EFA identified three personality profiles (“sadistic-antisocial-negativistic,” “masochistic-depressive-dependent-avoidant,” and “antihistrionic-schizoid”). Conclusion: High prevalence of PDs among adult ADHD patients was confirmed. The personality profiles seemed to reflect the persistence of ADHD and related childhood comorbidities in adulthood.

scholarly journals Toward an Integrated Model of Pathological Personality Traits: Common Hierarchical Structure of the PID-5 and the DAPP-BQ

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-S18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Gutiérrez ◽  
José Ruiz ◽  
Josep Maria Peri ◽  
Miguel Gárriz ◽  
Gemma Vall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Emotional Dysregulation ◽  
Personality Pathology ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Dimensional Model ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Dimensional Classification ◽  
Dimensional Assessment ◽  
Pathological Personality Traits

A dimensional classification seems to be the next move in the personality disorders field. However, it is not clear whether there is one dimensional model or many, or whether the currently available dimensional instruments measure the same traits. To help clarify these issues, the authors administered the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) and the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology (DAPP-BQ) to 414 psychiatric outpatients. Factor analyses showed that a common hierarchical structure underlies both instruments, even if each one measures slightly different aspects of it. Disattenuated correlations indicated that, at the lower order level, two thirds of the PID-5 and DAPP-BQ facets measure essentially the same traits, although the pairings were not exactly as predicted. Among higher order domains, only PID Negative Affectivity and Detachment converged unambiguously with DAPP Emotional Dysregulation and Inhibition. Overall, the PID-5 and the DAPP-BQ reflect, with small divergences, one and the same structure of pathological personality traits.

scholarly journals A multilevel examination of lifetime aggression: integrating cortical thickness, personality pathology and trauma exposure

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana E Sheehan ◽  
Nadia Bounoua ◽  
Rickie Miglin ◽  
Jeffrey M Spielberg ◽  
Naomi Sadeh
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Trauma Exposure ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Exposure Level ◽  
Pathological Personality Traits ◽  
Assaultive Trauma

Abstract Aggression represents a significant public health concern, causing serious physical and psychological harm. Although many studies have sought to characterize the etiology of aggression, research on the contributions of risk factors that span multiple levels of analysis for explaining aggressive behavior is lacking. To address this gap, we investigated the direct and unique contributions of cortical thickness (level 1), pathological personality traits (level 2) and trauma exposure (level 3) for explaining lifetime physical aggression in a high-risk sample of community adults (N = 129, 47.3% men). First, the frequency of lifetime aggression was inversely associated with cortical thickness in regions of prefrontal and temporal cortices that have been implicated in executive functioning, inhibitory mechanisms and socio-emotional processing. Further, aggression was positively associated with pathological personality traits (antagonism and disinhibition) and exposure to assaultive trauma. Notably, all three levels of analysis (cortical thickness, pathological personality traits and assaultive trauma exposure) explained non-overlapping variance in aggressive behavior when examined simultaneously in integrative models. Together, the findings provide a multilevel assessment of the biopsychosocial factors associated with the frequency of aggression. They also indicate that cortical thickness explains novel variance in these harmful behaviors not captured by well-established personality and environmental risk factors for aggression.

scholarly journals Childhood Trauma and Its Relation to Chronic Depression in Adulthood

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa Negele ◽  
Johannes Kaufhold ◽  
Lisa Kallenbach ◽  
Marianne Leuzinger-Bohleber
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Childhood Trauma ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Emotional Abuse ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Stepwise Multiple Regression ◽  
Traumatic Experiences ◽  
Childhood Trauma Questionnaire ◽  
Depressed Patients ◽  
Multiple Exposures

There is a large consensus indicating that childhood trauma is significantly involved in the development of depression. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of retrospectively recalled childhood trauma in chronically depressed patients and to investigate a more specific relationship between trauma type and depression. We further asked for the influence of multiple experiences of childhood trauma on the vulnerability to a chronic course of depression in adulthood. 349 chronically depressed patients of the German LAC Depression Study completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, a self-report measure of traumatic experiences in childhood. 75.6% of the chronically depressed patients reported clinically significant histories of childhood trauma. 37% of the chronically depressed patients reported multiple childhood traumatization. Experiences of multiple trauma also led to significantly more severe depressive symptoms. Stepwise multiple regression analysis suggested that childhood emotional abuse and sexual abuse were significantly associated with a higher symptom severity in chronically depressed adults. Yet, expanding the regression model for multiple exposures showed that multiplicity was the only remaining significant predictor for symptom severity in chronically depressed patients. Clinical implications suggest a precise assessment of childhood trauma in chronically depressed patients with a focus on emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and multiple exposures to childhood trauma. This trial is registered with registration numberISRCTN91956346.

Schizotypal personality traits and social cognition are associated with childhood trauma exposure

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Quidé ◽  
Sarah Cohen-Woods ◽  
Nicole O'Reilly ◽  
Vaughan J. Carr ◽  
Bernet M. Elzinga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Childhood Trauma ◽  
Trauma Exposure ◽  
Schizotypal Personality

An Empirical Evaluation of the DSM-5 Alternative Model of Personality Disorders in Later Life

2020 ◽  
pp. 009141502098076
Author(s):  
Lisa E. Stone ◽  
Daniel L. Segal
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Alternative Model ◽  
Empirical Evaluation ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Personality Functioning ◽  
Dsm 5 ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Pathological Personality Traits

Personality disorders (PDs) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-5) are conceptualized as distinct clinical syndromes. However, debate persists about the clinical utility of this categorical model, with many researchers supporting a dimensional model that focuses on pathological personality traits and personality dysfunction. This model was published in Section III of DSM-5 and named the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD). This study evaluated the AMPD by examining relationships between traits and dysfunction with traditional categorical PD constructs among older adults. Older adults ( N = 202) completed the Personality Inventory for DSM-5, Levels of Personality Functioning Scale-Self-Report, and Coolidge Axis II Inventory. Results indicated that pathological personality traits do not relate to categorical PDs in directions predicted by the AMPD. Personality functioning related to categorical PDs in expected theoretical patterns according to the AMPD but lacked incremental validity above pathological personality traits. An implication of these findings is that the AMPD does not fully resolve the age-related issues with the traditional categorical PD model.

The Relationship Between Narcissism and Personality Traits of the Five-Factor-Model in Adolescents and Young Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 516-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Allroggen ◽  
Peter Rehmann ◽  
Eva Schürch ◽  
Carolyn C. Morf ◽  
Michael Kölch
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Personality Factors ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Grandiose Narcissism ◽  
Vulnerable Narcissism ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract.Narcissism is seen as a multidimensional construct that consists of two manifestations: grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. In order to define these two manifestations, their relationship to personality factors has increasingly become of interest. However, so far no studies have considered the relationship between different phenotypes of narcissism and personality factors in adolescents. Method: In a cross-sectional study, we examine a group of adolescents (n = 98; average age 16.77 years; 23.5 % female) with regard to the relationship between Big Five personality factors and pathological narcissism using self-report instruments. This group is compared to a group of young adults (n = 38; average age 19.69 years; 25.6 % female). Results: Grandiose narcissism is primarily related to low Agreeableness and Extraversion, vulnerable narcissism to Neuroticism. We do not find differences between adolescents and young adults concerning the relationship between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism and personality traits. Discussion: Vulnerable and grandiose narcissism can be well differentiated in adolescents, and the pattern does not show substantial differences compared to young adults.

Too Much to Bear

Crisis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole J. Peak ◽  
James C. Overholser ◽  
Josephine Ridley ◽  
Abby Braden ◽  
Lauren Fisher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Concurrent Validity ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Diagnostic Interview ◽  
Veterans Affairs ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Perceived Burdensomeness ◽  
Scale Method

Abstract. Background: People who feel they have become a burden on others may become susceptible to suicidal ideation. When people no longer feel capable or productive, they may assume that friends and family members would be better off without them. Aim: The present study was designed to assess preliminary psychometric properties of a new measure, the Perceived Burdensomeness (PBS) Scale. Method: Depressed psychiatric patients (N = 173) were recruited from a veterans affairs medical center. Patients were assessed with a structured diagnostic interview and self-report measures assessing perceived burdensomeness, depression severity, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. Results: The present study supported preliminary evidence of reliability and concurrent validity of the PBS. Additionally, perceived burdensomeness was significantly associated with higher levels of hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Conclusion: It is hoped that with the aid of the PBS clinicians may be able to intervene more specifically in the treatment of suicidality.

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