Patterns of temperament and character in subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to assess the temperament and character patterns of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients and to investigate the relationship between patterns of temperament and character and the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.


METHODS
The subjects were 40 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for OCD and 40 age-, sex-, and IQ-matched healthy controls. All subjects completed Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory. Other instruments included the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Beck Anxiety Inventory.


RESULTS
OCD patients showed significantly higher scores of harm avoidance and lower scores of novelty seeking and self-directedness compared with healthy comparison subjects. In addition, the high harm avoidance and low self-directedness scores are correlated with a greater severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in OCD subjects (multiple regression analysis, beta = 0.39, t = 2.54, df = 34, p = .016; beta = -0.41, t = 2.46, df = 34, p = .019, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
OCD patients had distinct patterns of temperament and character compared with healthy comparison subjects. In addition, these patterns are specifically related to the severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Lyoo
I K
IK
Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Medical College, Neuroscience Institute, South Korea.
Lee
D W
DW
Kim
Y S
YS
Kong
S W
SW
Kwon
J S
JS
D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D002605:Character; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000145:classification; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013694:Temperament