Suitability of the TEMPS-A for population-based studies: ease of administration and stability of affective temperaments in its Lebanese version.
BACKGROUND
The Temperament Evaluation of Memphis Pisa Paris and San Diego Auto-questionnaire (TEMPS-A) has been translated and validated into several languages, and used in different subgroups (e.g. clinical, students, company, employees and those with different educational levels).


METHODS
Lebanon is the only country that has validated the TEMPS-A in a national cohort, as part of the Lebanese Evaluation of the Burden of Ailments and Needs Of the Nation (LEBANON). In this paper, we test the suitability of the TEMPS-A for large scale epidemiologic population-based studies.


RESULTS
82.1% of the respondents found the TEMPS-A to be easy to understand. The global reports of the Lebanese of their own temperaments paralleled those of the formal sub-scores on the five affective temperament subscales. The majority of respondents (90.3%) felt that their answers on the Lebanese-Arabic TEMPS-A scale represented them throughout their adulthood; the minority who did not were more likely to be older, and to have scored higher on the cyclothymic, and lower on the hyperthymic subscales.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the TEMPS-A has been designed for self-administration (auto-questionnaire), this was not practical in all subjects. We nonetheless feel that the interview format is viable as it introduces flexibility with certain subjects in population studies.


CONCLUSIONS
The TEMPS-A appears to be suitable for use in epidemiologic surveys and research.
Karam
Elie G
EG
Department of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Balamand University, Beirut, Lebanon. egkaram@idraac.org
Mneimneh
Zeina N
ZN
Salamoun
Mariana M
MM
Akiskal
Hagop S
HS
Akiskal
Kareen K
KK
D018912:Arabs; D003863:Depression / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007861:Lebanon / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010297:Paris; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament; D013714:Tennessee