Comparison of personality risk factors in bulimia nervosa and pathological gambling.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to assess the predictive value of personality profiles to classify individuals with bulimia nervosa (BN), pathological gambling (PG), and a nonpsychiatric comparison group while controlling for sex.


METHODS
The sample comprised 270 BN (241 women, 29 men), 429 PG (42 women, 387 men), and 96 comparison (nonpsychiatric) subjects (35 women, 61 men). All patients were consecutively admitted to our Psychiatry Department and were diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision criteria. We administered the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised as well as other clinical indices. Multinomial and binary logistic regression models adjusted for age and stratified by sex were used to assess the predictive value of personality in relation to group status.


RESULTS
In comparison to controls, high Novelty Seeking (P < .001) was specifically associated with a diagnosis of PG. Independently of sex, low Self-Directedness was associated with both BN (P < .001) and PG (P < .001). Some sex-specific differences were also observed; namely, women with BN and PG displayed higher Harm Avoidance and Cooperativeness than control women, whereas men with PG reported higher Reward Dependence and Persistence than control men.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggested that, whereas there are some shared personality traits between BN and PG when compared with healthy controls, there are also some sex- and diagnostic-specific personality traits that weigh against the consideration of BN as an impulse control disorder.
Alvarez-Moya
Eva M
EM
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge, Barcelona, Spain.
Jiménez-Murcia
Susana
S
Granero
Roser
R
Vallejo
Julio
J
Krug
Isabel
I
Bulik
Cynthia M
CM
Fernández-Aranda
Fernando
F
D000328:Adult; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires