A Study of the Coupling of FET Temperament Traits with Major Depression

Abstract

Objective: Temperament and mental illness have been linked to the same systems of behavioral regulation. A temperament model, carefully structured to respond to subtle differences within systems of behavior regulation, should exhibit distinct temperament patterns in the presence of mental illness. Previous comparisons of temperament profiles in mental disorders used mostly emotionality-related traits. In contrast, the Functional Ensemble of Temperament (FET) model differentiates not only between emotionality traits, but also between traits related to physical, verbal, and mental aspects of behavior and maps 12 functional aspects of behavior to temperament traits as well as to symptoms of mental illnesses. This article reports on the coupling of sex, age, and temperament traits with Major Depression (MD) using the FET framework.Method: Intake records of 467 subjects, ages 17–24, 25–45, 46–65, 66–84 were examined, with temperament assessed by the Structure of Temperament Questionnaire (based on the FET).Results: The presence of MD was associated with changes in mean temperament scores on 9 of the 12 traits. The results were in line with the DSM-5 criteria of fatigue (patients with MD reported a significant decrease in three types of endurance – motor-physical, social-verbal, and mental), of psychomotor retardation (a significant decrease in physical and social-verbal tempo) and of worthlessness (as low Self-Confidence). The results also showed that three new symptoms, high Impulsivity, high Neuroticism, and diminished Plasticity, should be considered as depressive symptoms in future versions of the DSM. As a significant negative result, no interaction of age or sex (with the exception of the Self-Confidence scale) with MD was found for temperament traits.Conclusion: The value of differentiating between physical, social, and mental aspects of behavior is demonstrated in the differential effects of major depression and gender. The value of differentiating between endurance, dynamical and orientation-related aspects of behavior is also demonstrated. The deleterious impact of MD on temperament scores appeared to be similar across all age groups. The appearance of high impulsivity, neuroticism, and low plasticity deserve further study as associated factors in future versions of the DSM/ICD.

The prevalence and co-occurrence of psychiatric conditions among entrepreneurs and their families

“…Specific temperaments are associated with specific psychiatric conditions (Clauss et al 2015;Trofimova and Sulis 2016). Temperaments are dispositional and enduring biological response styles (Caspi and Silva 1995;Dyson et al 2015).…”

There is more to mental illness than negative affect: comprehensive temperament profiles in depression and generalized anxiety

“…Neuroticism, however, appeared to be high not just in anxiety disorders but in many types of mental illness and therefore did not differentiate between mental disorders. For example, in addition to the association between high Neuroticism and anxiety disorders, Neuroticism/Negative Affect was also reported to have significant positive correlation with depression [ 4 , 5 , 8 , 10 , 12 , 23 , 24 , 37 – 39 ]. Patients with histrionic personality disorder and major depression also scored higher on the Harm Avoidance scale (that is similar to Neuroticism) in studies using Cloninger’s TCI scales [ 14 , 38 – 40 ].…”

Taxonomies of psychological individual differences: biological perspectives on millennia-long challenges

“…Age is often important to diagnose medical conditions, including psychiatric problems. Several temperament (neurochemically based) traits that are important for individuals' functioning may be less noticed by society (figure 1) even though, as shown in this theme issue, they have welldocumented biological bases: plasticity and impulsivity [1][2][3]6,23,25,41], sensation seeking [10,25], speed of speech and physical actions [1,7,16,24], sustained attention or effortful control [12], sensory sensitivity [15], psychopathy and empathy [3,8], a system of positive emotionality and security [16,18], physical endurance [1,3,23], which, in its weakness, shows up as a main symptom of depressive dispositions [39,47].…”

“…motor retardation), sociability (social withdrawal), plasticity (apathy for new tasks), sustained attention (inability to focus), impulsivity, confidence (low self-image) and neuroticism (increasing worries) [39,47]. Well-documented associations of these symptoms and traits with actions of specific neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and hormones [3,7,9,10,16,24,39,47] are reported in the extensive field of psycho-pharmacology; genetic associations and links to the dopaminergic systems are also commonly found in schizophrenia research [48,52]. All this highlights the importance of attention to functionality of neurotransmitters in classifications of human behaviour.…”