title: NEO-FFI personality clusters in trichotillomania.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine whether personality prototypes exist among hair pullers and if these groups differ in hair pulling (HP) characteristics, clinical correlates, and quality of life. 164 adult hair pullers completed the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa and McCrae, 1992) and self-report measures of HP severity, HP style, affective state, and quality of life. A latent class cluster analysis using NEO-FFI scores was performed to separate participants into clusters. Bonferroni-corrected t-tests were used to compare clusters on HP, affective, and quality of life variables. Multiple regression was used to determine which variables significantly predicted quality of life. Two distinct personality prototypes were identified. Cluster 1 (n=96) had higher neuroticism and lower extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness when compared to cluster 2 (n=68). No significant differences in demographics were reported for the two personality clusters. The clusters differed on extent of focused HP, severity of depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as quality of life. Those in cluster 1 endorsed greater depression, anxiety, and stress, and worse quality of life. Additionally, only depression and cluster membership (based on NEO scores) significantly predicted quality of life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02114, USA. Electronic address: nkeuthen@partners.org.
authors.forename: Nancy J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Keuthen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Esther S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Erin E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Curley
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44240, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Flessner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D014256:Trichotillomania / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Big five; Hair Pulling; Personality; Quality of life