Pathological love: impulsivity, personality, and romantic relationship.
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.
Sophia
Eglacy C
EC
Impulse Control Disorder Outpatient Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. eglacy.sophia@uol.com.br
Tavares
Hermano
H
Berti
Marina P
MP
Pereira
Ana P
AP
Lorena
Andrea
A
Mello
Cidália
C
Gorenstein
Clarice
C
Zilberman
Monica L
ML
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