Interaction of life quality with alexithymia, temperament and character in male alcohol-dependent inpatients.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of life quality with alexithymia, temperament and character dimensions of personality.


METHODS
Participants were 156 consecutively admitted male alcohol dependents. Patients were investigated with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Temperament and Character Inventory, the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36-item health survey.


RESULTS
Among alcohol-dependent inpatients 30.1% were considered as alexithymic. Severity of alcohol related problems was higher in alexithymic group, whereas quality of life (QoL) was lower. Alexithymia, novelty seeking (NS) and harm avoidance (HA) were negatively, reward dependence, self-directedness and cooperativeness were positively correlated with QoL scores. 'Difficulty in identifying feelings' (DIF) factor of alexithymia and HA were the determinants of physical dimension of Life Quality in Linear Regression model, whereas DIF, HA and NS were the predictors of mental dimension score.


CONCLUSIONS
Among alcohol-dependent men, DIF factor of alexithymia and personality dimensions, particularly HA and NS are associated with impairment of QoL. Direction of this relationship and factors that may mediate this relationship is unclear.
Evren
Cuneyt
C
Bakirkoy State Hospital for Mental Health and Neurological Disorders, Alcohol and Drug Research, Treatment and Training Center (AMATEM), Istanbul, Turkey. cuneytevren@yahoo.com
Dalbudak
Ercan
E
Durkaya
Mine
M
Cetin
Rabia
R
Evren
Bilge
B
D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011788:Quality of Life; D012201:Reward; D012720:Severity of Illness Index