title: Temperament and character profiles in bipolar I, bipolar II and major depressive disorder: Impact over illness course, comorbidity pattern and psychopathological features of depression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies comparing temperament and character traits between patients with mood disorders and healthy individuals have yielded variable results.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) was administered to 101 bipolar I (BP-I), 96 bipolar II (BP-II), 123 major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, and 125 HS. A series of generalized linear models were performed in order to: (a) compare the TCI dimensions across groups; (b) test any effect of the TCI dimensions on clinical features of mood disorders; and (c) detect any association between TCI dimensions and the psychopathological features of a major depressive episode. Demographic and clinical variables were also included in the models as independent variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Higher Harm Avoidance was found in BP-II and MDD, but not in BP-I. Higher Self-Transcendence was found in BP-I. Our models also showed higher Self-Directedness in HS, either vs MDD or BP-II. No association was found between any TCI dimension and the severity of symptoms. Conversely, a positive association was found between Harm Avoidance and the overall burden of depressive episodes during lifetime.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The cross-sectional design and the heterogeneity of the sample may be the main limitations of our study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In general, our sample seems to support the view of a similar profile of temperament and character between MDD and BP-II, characterized by high Harm Avoidance and low Self-Directedness. In contrast, patients with BP-I only exhibit high Self-Transcendence, having a near-normal profile in terms of Harm Avoidance or Self-Directedness.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry and Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy; Department of Biomedical and Neuro-Motor Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zaninotto
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Psychologie Medicale, Université Libre de Bruxelles and Psy Pluriel, Centre Européen de Psychologie Medicale, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Souery
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1061, University of Montpellier, FondaMental Foundation, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calati
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry and Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Nicola
authors.affiliation: Imperial College, University of London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Siegfried
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kasper
authors.affiliation: Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zohar
authors.affiliation: Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mendlewicz
authors.affiliation: Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robert Cloninger
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuro-Motor Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serretti
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychiatry and Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Janiri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D002605:Character; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011599:Psychopathology; D013694:Temperament
keywords: Bipolar disorder; Character; Depression; Depressive disorder; Mood disorders; Temperament