Upper respiratory tract infections increase self-rated hostility and distress

The authors administered a personality inventory, the Eysenck Personality Inventory and a distress scale, the Symptom Questionnaire, to all patients in a walk-in clinic of a general hospital during an influenza epidemic. Hostility, depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms were significantly higher in patients with upper respiratory tract infections (p less than .005); the majority scored in the range of psychiatric patients, regardless of whether patients had clinically classical influenza or merely symptoms and signs of another respiratory tract infection. There were no differences in the personality traits of extraversion or neuroticism between any of the groups, suggesting that hostility and distress were consequences of the viral infections and were largely unaffected by preexisting personality traits.     

Thrombocyte monoamine oxidase activity and personality traits in women with severe premenstrual syndrome

Women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) of such severity that they actively had sought medical attention for their symptoms were compared with healthy female students with regard to platelet MAO activity and temperamental correlates by means of the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP), scales from the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and Eysenck's IVE inventory. The women with PMS were divided into two groups; irritability and depression as predominating symptom. No variation in platelet MAO was found during the menstrual cycle, either in patients or in controls. Both PMS groups had significantly lower platelet MAO activity than the controls. There was no difference between the two groups with PMS. Also with regard to personality traits there were considerable differences between the females with PMS and the controls. There were few differences between the two groups of PMS patients. Thus, the patients scored significantly higher as regards somatic anxiety, muscular tension, indirect aggression, verbal aggression and neuroticism and lower as regards socialization than the controls.     

How Child Maltreatment Enduringly Impacts Aggression: A Perspective Based on Personality Solidification

It has been shown that early experiences of maltreatment can stably influence an individual’s internal and external aggressive behavior in adulthood. And on what mechanisms do this stability arise? From the perspective of personality solidification theory, this study sample of 1951 primary and secondary school students was used to explore the relationship between child maltreatment, Big Five personality and internalized and externalized aggression, as well as the different mechanisms of differentiation of personality components in child maltreatment on two different natures of aggression, using four scales: The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R), None-suicidal Self-Injury Scale and Aggression Questionnaire. The findings suggest that (1) neuroticism plays the same mediating mechanism in the effect of child maltreatment on the persistence of internalized and externalized aggression; and (2) conscientiousness plays a different mechanism in effect of child maltreatment on both internalized and externalized aggression. Therefore, child maltreatment should be discouraged and the development of a sound personality should be guided, thus reducing future aggressive behavior and promoting child development and social harmony.     

Personality dimensions in chronic fatigue syndrome and depression.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a poorly understood condition. Possible etiological factors include infectious agents, psychiatric disorders, and personality characteristics. We examined personality dimensions in 30 nondepressed patients with CFS, 20 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), and 15 healthy controls. On the NEO-FFI, patients with CFS scored significantly lower than healthy controls on the extroversion subscale. On the neuroticism dimension of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), patients with MDD scored higher than those with CFS, who in turn scored significantly higher than the healthy controls. CFS patients rated themselves as higher on neuroticism and less extroverted when ill than when they were well. Our results suggest that high scores on neuroticism and low scores on extroversion in CFS could be a reaction to chronic illness.     

Alexithymia in parents of daughters with eating disorders: its relationships with psychopathological and personality variables

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this research was to investigate alexithymia among parents of a daughter with eating disorders (EDs) and to relate alexithymia to personality and psychopathology characteristics. METHODS: Parents of 73 women with ED (20 with anorexia nervosa, restrictive subtype (ANR), 23 with anorexia nervosa, bulimic subtype (ANB) and 30 with bulimia nervosa (BN)) and parents of 72 normal women were evaluated with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale. RESULTS: The parents of daughters with ED show higher scores in the TAS-20 and its factors than the controls. TAS-20 scores of parents are associated with neuroticism, anxiety and depression. CONCLUSIONS: Alexithymia in parents of daughters with an ED could be a trait of personality, but it could also be a state due to distress. Alexithymia should be taken into account in order to help these parents express emotions.     

Evaluation of personality traits in panic disorder using Swedish universities Scales of Personality

Personality factors may interact with development and expressions of panic disorder (PD). This study sought to identify differences in personality traits between patients with PD and healthy individuals and explore the relationships between personality domains and various demographic and clinical variables of PD. Personality traits were evaluated in 193 patients and 314 matched healthy subjects using the Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP). All SSP traits, except for detachment and physical trait aggression, were significantly deviated in PD group, as compared to healthy subjects. The SSP factors of neuroticism and aggressiveness, but not extraversion, were significantly higher in PD group than in controls. More pronounced aberrations in personality traits were observed in PD with affective comorbidity. Only few demographic and clinical variables were associated with SSP scores in PD group. These results add to the evidence of maladaptive personality disposition in patients with PD, particularly high neuroticism and manifest somatic trait anxiety. Use of SSP proved to add clinically relevant information on personality traits in patients with PD.     

Personality traits,defense mechanisms and hostility features associated with somatic symptom severity in both health and disease

Objective

Somatic symptoms are widespread in clinical practice. The association of somatic symptom severity with impaired health status holds both when symptoms are medically unexplained and when they are medically explained. The role of personality dimensions in the formation of somatic symptoms in patients with established, chronic diseases when compared to healthy participants had not been investigated prior to this study.

Methods

In samples of 411 healthy subjects and 810 participants with any of 9 established, chronic medical conditions, we measured psychological distress (SCL-90-R), personality traits (Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire), defensive profiles (Defense Style Questionnaire), individual defenses (Life Style Index) and hostility features (Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire). Hierarchical multivariate models were used to assess the independent associations between personality dimensions and somatic symptom severity in both samples. The SCL-90-R somatization scale served as the outcome variable.

Results

In both samples, older age, less education, higher neuroticism, adoption of the displacement defense and depressive symptoms were independently and positively associated with somatic symptom severity. Higher somatic symptom severity was also associated with more “introverted” features (i.e., the self-sacrificing defensive style and self-criticism) among participants with established, chronic medical conditions.

Conclusions

These data suggest that similar personality traits and defense mechanisms are associated with somatic symptom severity in health and disease, indicating that somatic symptoms are not simply consequences of having a medical condition. The specific associations of the self-sacrificing defensive profile and self-criticism with somatic symptom severity in the patient sample may have important clinical implications.     

Personality traits in early phases of panic disorder: implications on the presence of agoraphobia, clinical severity and short-term outcome

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relations between personality traits using the Big Five model and presence of agoraphobia, clinical severity and short-term outcome in an unbiased clinical sample of never-treated panic disorder patients. METHOD: Panic disorder (PD) patients (n = 103) in the first stages of their illness were evaluated using the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness Five Factor Inventory of Personality (NEO-FFI) and were compared with a sample of healthy subjects. Severity was assessed by the Panic Disorder Severity Scale and the Clinical Global Impression Scales. Patients were evaluated after 8 weeks of naturalistic pharmacologic treatment with Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. RESULTS: Panic disorder patients show more neuroticism than healthy subjects. Patients suffering from agoraphobia are more introverted than controls. Extraversion, in addition to gender and distress, during panic attacks allows to correctly classifying 72% of the cases of agoraphobia. CONCLUSION: Low scores in extraversion contribute to explain the presence of agoraphobia in panic disorder. Personality traits are neither related to clinical severity nor to short-term response to pharmacological treatment.     

Temperamental vulnerability in attempted suicide

The aim of this study was to explore and describe features of suicidal temperament and to describe the psychological domains of vulnerability in attempted suicide. Thirty-two suicide attempters were compared with 32 sex- and age-matched convalescent surgical controls on self-report personality inventories; the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the Chapman Scales, the Beck Hopelessnes Scale and the Karolinska Scales of Personality. Suicide attempters showed higher scale scores on neuroticism, psychoticism, interpersonal aversiveness, perceptual aberration, nonconformity, hopelessness, somatic anxiety, muscular tension, indirect aggression, suspicion and lower socialization. The features of suicidal temperament include hopelessness and anhedonia, anxiety, hostility and undirected anger expression, psychosis proneness, antisocial traits and interpersonal difficulties. These temperamental features might render the suicidal individual particularly vulnerable to suicidal behavior.     

Relationship between hypochondriacal concerns and personality dimensions and traits in a military population

Our aim was to examine the relationship between personality dimensions and hypochondriacal concerns and somatic symptoms in a military population. The Schedule of Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality along with measures of hypochondriacal concerns and somatic symptoms were administered to 602 military veterans who had been on active duty during the 1991 Gulf War. Factor analyses identified six separable dimensions-two of hypochondriacal concerns, two of somatic symptoms, and two of possible mechanisms of symptom generation-for study. Multiple regression models determined the proportion of variation in these measures of somatic distress explained by personality scales. Personality measures explained between 26% and 38% of the variance in hypochondriacal concerns and somatic symptoms, and Negative Temperament accounted for most of this. Moderately strong positive correlations were observed between trait scales Mistrust, Low Self-Esteem, and Eccentric Perceptions and the various measures of somatic distress. Thus, when Negative Temperament was taken into account, few significant correlations between personality measures and hypochondriacal concerns or somatic symptoms remained. Negative temperament or neuroticism is strongly associated with hypochondriacal concerns. Important features of hypochondriasis and somatic distress appear to lie within the domain of personality. It remains for future research to show whether negative temperament is a vulnerability factor for hypochondriasis or hypochondriasis is itself a personality disorder.     

Negative affect and the experience of chronic pain

Although it is clear from previous research that pain is associated with negative affect, the relative contribution of specific affective dimensions, e.g. depression, anxiety and anger, to the subjective experience of chronic pain is unclear. The literature is also mixed concerning the relative importance of state versus trait influences in the experience of chronic pain. The present study analyzed the ability of anxiety, anger, and depression (as measured by the State-Trait Personality Inventory, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory, respectively) to predict self-report of clinical pain as indicated by the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) in a sample of 60 chronic pain patients. The results of stepwise regression analyses consistently demonstrated that the state measures were more strongly related to MPQ pain ratings than trait measures. These data suggest support for the hypothesis that chronic pain adversely impacts mood rather than the opposing hypothesis that negative mood is a predisposing factor in the development of chronic pain. Furthermore, different aspects of the state emotional experience were found to be related to different components of pain report. The results of this study also suggest that attributional processes could be an important component of the relationship between negative mood and the experience of pain.     

Borderline personality organization in violent offenders: correlations of identity diffusion and primitive defense mechanisms with antisocial features, neuroticism, and interpersonal problems

Although theoretical assumptions and empirical evidence suggest an association between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and antisocial behavior or even antisocial personality disorder (APD), there is no study relating the psychodynamic aspects of BPD to antisocial behavior. In this study, the authors tested the correlation between the structural criteria of borderline personality organization (BPO)--that is, identity diffusion, primitive defense mechanisms, and reality testing--and antisocial features, neuroticism, and interpersonal problems. A sample of imprisoned violent offenders (N = 91) was studied using the Antisocial Personality Questionnaire (APQ), the Borderline Personality Inventory (BPI), the Neo-Five-Factor-Inventory (Neo-FFI), and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP). Significant correlations were predicted and found between the BPI scales of identity diffusion, primitive defense mechanisms, impaired reality testing, and fear of closeness and antisocial features, neuroticism, agreeableness, and interpersonal problems. The results are consistent with both object relations theory and attachment theory.     

Parental rearing style, premorbid personality, mental health, and quality of life in chronic regional pain: A causal analysis

The aim of the current study was to establish the causal model among parental bonding, personality characteristics, mental health, quality of life, and chronic regional pain (CRP). Thirty CRP patients and 56 mental illness patients were compared using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Chinese Health Questionnaire (CHQ), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief-Tawain Version (WHOQOL-BREF-TW), and Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). There were significant differences in mental health, personality characteristics, and quality of life between the CRP and mental illness groups. Structural equation modeling showed that parental bonding could directly affect personality characteristics, and, hence, directly impact disease and quality of life. CRP is different from mental illness in many dimensions. In this study, CRP appeared to be caused by actual physical dysfunction rather than mental dysfunction.     

The association between bodily anxiety symptom dimensions and the scales of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory and the Temperament and Character Inventory

The association between anxiety disorders and different measures of personality has been extensively studied to further the understanding of etiology, course, and treatment, and to possibly prevent the development of anxiety disorders. We have proposed a hierarchical model of bodily anxiety symptoms with 1 second-order severity factor and 5 first-order factors: cardio-respiratory, gastro-intestinal, autonomic, vertigo, and tension. The aim of this study was to investigate whether personality traits were differentially related to distinct symptom subdimensions or exclusively related to the general severity factor. Structural equation modeling of data on 120 patients with a primary diagnosis of social phobia and 207 patients with a primary diagnosis of panic disorder was used to examine the association between anxiety symptom dimensions and the scales of the Temperament and Character Inventory and of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. When both sets of personality measures were simultaneously modeled as predictors, the Revised NEO Personality Inventory scales, neuroticism and extraversion, remained significantly associated with the severity factor, whereas the association between the Temperament and Character Inventory dimensions, harm avoidance and novelty seeking, and the severity factor became nonsignificant. Harm avoidance was negatively associated with the vertigo first-order factor, whereas neuroticism was negatively associated with the cardio-respiratory first-order factor, indicating that personality factors may be differentially related to specific anxiety subdimensions.     

Interictal Aggression in Epilepsy: The Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory

Summary: Adult patients with left, right, or bilateral temporal lobe epilepsy or absence epilepsy, and normal controls completed the Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory (BDHI), a standardized questionnaire of aggressive tendencies. Patients with left temporal lobe seizure foci scores higher on the Suspición scale than did other patients or controls (p < 0.05). Factor analysis scale scores identified three factors: hostile feelings, covert aggression, and overt aggression. The groups differed on their pattern of factor scores (p < 0.01): patients with left temporal lobe epilepsy scored higher than other groups on hostile feelings, normal controls scored higher on Covert aggression, and bitemporal patients scores higher on Overt aggression. Patients with absence seizures did not differ from controls. Lateralization of the seizure focus in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy may alter expression of aggressive behavior.     

Personality traits in a group of individuals with functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and their correlation with gastrin, somatostatin and oxytocin levels.

The Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) and some dimensions of the Bergman scale reflecting social dependency and self-confidence were used in 24 individuals with functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Patients showed higher scores of somatic anxiety, indirect aggression and irritability and lower scores in socialization when compared with a reference group. The levels of gastrointestinal symptoms as well as the levels of some hormones related to vagal nerve activity in this patient group have been reported in a previous publication. When the scores obtained in personality inventories were related to symptom levels, we found significant correlations with intestinal but not abdominal symptoms. Gastrin levels correlated inversely with socialization. Somatostatin levels on the other hand, correlated negatively with social dependency and positively with self-confidence in the Bergman scale. Interestingly, oxytocin levels correlated positively with social dependency and in addition with indirect aggression and verbal aggression. The correlation between hormone levels and scores of personality dimensions will be interpreted and discussed within a physiological context.