title: Temperament, character and personality disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study, whether temperament and character remain stable over time and whether they differ between patients with and without personality disorder (PD) and between patients with specific PDs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with (n=225) or without (n=285) PD from Jorvi Bipolar Study, Vantaa Depression Study (VDS) and Vantaa Primary Care Depression Study were interviewed at baseline and at 18 months, and in the VDS also at 5 years. A general population comparison group (n=264) was surveyed by mail.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with non-PD patients, PD patients scored lower on self-directedness and cooperativeness. Cluster B and C PDs associated with high Novelty Seeking and Harm Avoidance, respectively. In logistic regression models, sensitivity and specificity of Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) dimensions for presence of any PD were 53% and 75%, and for specific PDs from 11% to 41% and from 92% to 100%, respectively. The 18-month test-retest correlations of TCI-R dimensions ranged from 0.58 to 0.82.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medium-term temporal stability of TCI in a clinical population appears good. Character scores differ markedly between PD and non-PD patients, whereas temperament scores differ only somewhat between the specific PDs. However, the TCI dimensions capture only a portion of the differences between PD and non-PD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute of Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Jorvi Hospital, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jylhä
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ketokivi
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mantere
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Melartin
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suominen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vuorilehto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Holma
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Holma
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Isometsä
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002605:Character; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory; D013694:Temperament
keywords: Character; Comorbidity; Personality; Personality disorder; Temperament