title: Pathological love: impulsivity, personality, and romantic relationship.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pathological love (PL)--behavior characterized by providing repetitive and uncontrolled care and attention to the partner in a romantic relationship--is a rarely studied condition, despite not being rare and causing suffering. This study aims at investigating impulsivity, personality, and characteristics related to the romantic relationship in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-nine individuals (50 with PL; 39 individuals with no psychiatric disorder) were compared regarding impulsivity, personality, type of attachment, satisfaction with romantic relationship, and love style.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals with PL have higher levels of impulsivity (P<.001; Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), higher self-transcendence, that is, are more unconventional and hold sense of communion with a wider reality (P<.001; Temperament and Character Inventory) and keep dissatisfactory romantic relationships (P<.001; Adapted Relationship Assessment Scale).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Individuals with PL present personality traits and relationship aspects that must be taken into account in devising assessment and therapeutic strategies for this population.
authors.affiliation: Impulse Control Disorder Outpatient Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. eglacy.sophia@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Eglacy C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Sophia
authors.forename: Hermano
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tavares
authors.forename: Marina P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Berti
authors.forename: Ana P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lorena
authors.forename: Cidália
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mello
authors.forename: Clarice
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gorenstein
authors.forename: Monica L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Zilberman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009769:Object Attachment; D010551:Personality; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011599:Psychopathology