Comparison of temperament and character between early- and late-onset Korean male pathological gamblers.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated differences in temperament and character between early and late onset Korean pathological gamblers to identify whether the age of onset of pathological gambling (PG) could discriminate PG subtypes, like in alcoholism.


METHODS
Male subjects (N = 104) with DSM-IV PG were tested with Cloninger's temperament and character inventory (TCI). We divided patients into two groups: early onset (N = 34) with gambling problems before reaching 25 years old, and late onset (N = 70) with gambling after the age of 25.


RESULTS
Early-onset patients showed a higher score in novelty seeking (NS) and harm avoidance (HA), but lower scores of self-transcendence. There was no difference in reward dependence, persistence, self-directedness, or cooperativeness between two groups. After adjusting for age differences by ANCOVA (using age as a covariate), the early onset group showed a significantly higher score in both HA (F₁,₁₀₁ = 4.932, P = 0.029) and NS (F₁,₁₀₁ = 3.948, P = 0.050) but not in any other TCI dimensions.


CONCLUSIONS
Early- and late-onset Korean male pathological gamblers showed several distinct differences in temperament and character, indicating that age of onset may help discriminate PG subgroups.
Shin
Young-Chul
YC
Department of Psychiatry, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 108 Pyung-dong, Jongno-Ku, 110-746 Seoul, Korea.
Lim
Se-Won
SW
Choi
Sam-Wook
SW
Kim
Suck Won
SW
Grant
Jon E
JE
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D002605:Character; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D056910:Republic of Korea; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament; D055815:Young Adult