title: How Stable are Temperaments in the Clinical Setting: A Pilot Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An essential point in evaluating the utility of measuring temperaments is thestabilityof the instrument used especially in the presence of mental disorders. One of the most commonly used instruments in the clinical setting is the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Auto-questionnaire (TEMPS-A). To our knowledge, the TEMPS-A's stability in an outpatient adult clinical setting has not been evaluated.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the stability of the effect of temperament, time and clinical intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 89 adult outpatients was assessed atbaselineandfollow-upon their TEMPS-A scores. Diagnoses of mental disorders were reached through clinical interviews, and the severity of the conditions was clinically assessed at baseline and follow-up on a Likert scale. Changes in scores were examined in terms of z-scores, and possible predictors of the change in scores were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty-nine percent of all subjects' temperaments scores did not change or changed less than one z-score, and specifically: 84.2% in the case of depressive, 89.9% for cyclothymic, 92.1% for hyperthymic, 92.2% for irritable, and 86.5% for anxious temperaments. For all of the five temperaments, age, gender, time difference between baseline and follow up, number of diagnoses, and percent improvement were not significantly associated with the change in temperament scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Well-established severity measures would add to the validity of any future findings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Shifts in temperament scores between baseline and follow-up were minor, thus proving the stability of temperaments and the TEMPS-A scale in a clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy & Applied Care (IDRAAC), Beirut, Lebanon; Department of Psychiatry & Clinical Psychology, St. George Hospital University Medical Center, Balamand University, Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Elie G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Karam
authors.affiliation: Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy & Applied Care (IDRAAC), Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: El Khoury
authors.affiliation: Institute for Development, Research, Advocacy & Applied Care (IDRAAC), Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Itani
keywords: Anxious; Cyclothymic; Dysthymic; Hyperthymic; Irritable; Temps A