title: Impact of personality on termination of short-term group psychotherapy in depressed elderly outpatients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Termination in group psychotherapy is an essential phase of the psychotherapeutic process, yet its clinical determinants remain largely unknown, especially in elderly patients. The aim of this study was to assess how patients' personality traits influence their way of leaving a short-term psychotherapy group as well as a larger therapeutic community program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Personality traits were assessed with the NEO Five-Factor Inventory in 24 elderly depressed outpatients. Patients' terminations from the group as well as from the community were ranked into four classes according to their appropriateness (completeness of experience and ability to deal with feelings of separation).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Neuroticism was not related to the quality of termination. In contrast, agreeableness and openness to experience were strongly associated with successful termination. Conscientiousness and extraversion may have a differential impact depending on the type of group (group psychotherapy versus therapeutic community).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Personality traits may be important clinical determinants of the quality of termination process in both group psychotherapy and therapeutic community settings for elderly depressed patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. Alessandra.Canuto@hcuge.ch
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Canuto
authors.forename: Corina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meiler-Mititelu
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: Panteleimon
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giannakopoulos
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000379:methods; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011379:Prognosis; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods*; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome