title: Primary emotional traits in patients with personality disorders.
abstract: There is a longstanding tradition that connects temperament pathology and personality disorders. Emotions are the major constituents of temperament. In mammals, seven primary emotions have been identified: SEEKING, FEAR, CARE, RAGE, SADNESS/PANIC, LUST and PLAY. The study aimed at exploring the relationship between primary emotions and personality disorders (PDs). Five hundred forty-six patients with different degrees and qualities of personality pathology, admitted to treatment in specialized PD services, were diagnosed according to Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders, and their primary emotional profiles were assessed by the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales. The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales explained 19% of the variance in borderline and avoidant criteria. The DSM-IV PD categories displayed different patterns of association to the primary emotions, e.g. the borderline PD profile suggested low thresholds for RAGE and SADNESS, but on the positive side a propensity for SEEKING. In contrast, the dependent PD profile suggested a low threshold for SADNESS but a high threshold for RAGE and SEEKING. The results are promising for a more coherent and evolution-based overall theory of PDs, and the correlations found in this study indicate testable causal pathways to PDs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. wkarteru@online.no.|Oslo University Hospital, Ullevaal, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo, Norway. wkarteru@online.no.
authors.forename: Sigmund
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karterud
authors.affiliation: Oslo University Hospital, Ullevaal, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Geir
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.affiliation: Oslo University Hospital, Ullevaal, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Merete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johansen
authors.affiliation: Institute for Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.|Oslo University Hospital, Ullevaal, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Theresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wilberg
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina Charlotte, Department of Psychology, Charlotte, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Jaak
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Panksepp
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013694:Temperament / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale; personality disorders; personality traits; primary emotions; temperament