Patterns of temperament and character in a clinical sample of Korean children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of the present study was to assess patterns of temperament and character in a clinical sample of Korean children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to investigate the relationship between patterns of temperament and character and the severity of ADHD symptoms.


METHODS
Fifty-one children who met DSM-IV criteria for ADHD and 51 age- and sex-matched healthy comparison subjects completed the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI) and the DuPaul's ADHD Rating Scale (ARS-IV).


RESULTS
Children with ADHD had significantly higher scores of Novelty Seeking and lower scores of Self-directedness in both parents' rating and children's self-rating. In addition, low Self-directedness scores predicted higher total scores of ARS-IV.


CONCLUSIONS
In a clinical sample of Korean children with ADHD, a distinct pattern of temperament and character was found. The current findings suggest that low Self-directedness may be related to the severity of ADHD symptoms.
Cho
Soo-Churl
SC
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Hwang
Jun-Won
JW
Lyoo
In-Kyoon
IK
Yoo
Hee-Jung
HJ
Kin
Boong-Nyun
BN
Kim
Jae-Won
JW
D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002605:Character; D002648:Child; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007723:Korea; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012201:Reward; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013694:Temperament