title: Reactive and regulative temperament in patients with compulsive buying and non-clinical controls measured by self-report and performance-based tasks.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine reactive and regulative temperament in patients with compulsive buying (CB) by means of self-report measures and performance-based tasks and to explore the relationship between both measurement approaches.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 31 treatment-seeking patients with CB (25 women, 6 men) and an age and gender matched non-clinical control group without CB (CG). All participants answered the Compulsive Buying Scale (CBS). Reactive temperament was assessed using the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System Scales (BIS/BAS) and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Regulative temperament was measured using the Effortful Control subscale of the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ-EC) and a computerized version of the Stroop Task. To control the results for depression, the Patient Health Questionnaire-Depression Scale (PHQ-9) was administered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Crude group comparisons revealed higher BIS and BAS scores, poorer IGT performance and lower ATQ-EC scores in the CB-group compared to the CG. The groups did not differ in their performance on the Stroop task. After controlling for depressive symptoms that were significantly higher in the CB-group, only the group differences in BAS reactivity remained significant. No significant associations were found between questionnaires and performance-based tasks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, the findings indicate that CB in the present clinical sample of treatment-seeking patients was mainly associated with higher approach tendencies and more depressive symptoms. The lacking correlation between self-reports and performance-based tasks is in line with prior research and suggests that both methodologies tap into different aspects of temperament.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Voth
authors.affiliation: KU Leuven, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Claes
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Ekaterini
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Georgiadou
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Janine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Selle
authors.affiliation: General Psychology: Cognition, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Trotzke
authors.affiliation: General Psychology: Cognition, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Zwaan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany. Electronic address: mueller.astrid@mh-hannover.de.
authors.forename: Astrid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D057566:Self Report; D057190:Stroop Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament