Six-Year Stability of Affective Temperaments as Measured by TEMPS-A

Abstract

Background: A number of psychopathological and neurobiological studies on affective temperament have been conducted based on the assumption that temperament is a stable trait. However, few studies have actually assessed the long-term stability of affective temperament. The objective of this study is to evaluate the 6-year stability of affective temperaments as measured by the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego – Autoquestionnaire version (TEMPS-A) in a non-clinical adult population. Sampling and Methods: Study participants consisted of 178 Japanese white-collar workers (103 males and 75 females; mean age = 38.5 years, SD = 7.8) who completed the Japanese version of TEMPS-A twice over a 6-year interval, and who did not have either past or current DSM-IV affective, anxiety or psychotic disorders, as diagnosed with the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. The long-term stability of affective temperaments as measured by TEMPS-A was assessed by analyzing Pearson correlation coefficients for temperament scores over a 6-year period. Results: Temperament scores were moderately to highly correlated over the 6-year period (depressive temperament, r = 0.59; cyclothymic temperament, r = 0.68; hyperthymic temperament, r = 0.82; irritable temperament, r = 0.66; anxious temperament, r = 0.74; p < 0.01 for all values). Pearson coefficients were in the range of 0.61–0.83 for males and 0.51–0.79 for females, while they were 0.56–0.85 for younger and 0.63–0.77 for older participants. All correlations were significant at p < 0.01, irrespective of temperament type, gender and age. Conclusions: Affective temperaments as measured by TEMPS-A exhibited good long-term stability and were robust, irrespective of temperament type, gender and age. Affective temperaments as measured by TEMPS-A may be considered to be stable traits, providing a sound basis for psychopathological and neurobiological studies. Limitations of this study include the fact that our sample was not drawn from the general community, it was entirely composed of Japanese participants and the size was not large.

Does temperature or sunshine mediate the effect of latitude on affective temperaments? A study of 5 regions in Japan

“…This 110-item true-false questionnaire measures the following temperament dimensions: depressive, cyclothymic, hyperthymic, irritable and anxious Matsumoto et al, 2005). TEMPS-A was translated into Japanese, and the reliability and validity of the Japanese version have been established Kawamura et al, 2010;Matsumoto et al, 2005).…”

Standardization of the TEMPS-A in the Greek general population

“…Apart from the original English version, until today the TEMPS-S has been translated and validated into French Hantouche and Akiskal, 1997;Hantouche et al, 2001;Krebs et al, 2006), Italian (Pompili et al, 2008), German (Bloink et al, 2005a;Erfurth et al, 2005aErfurth et al, , 2005b, Portuguese (Figueira et al, 2010), Polish (Borkowska et al, 2010), Hungarian (Rozsa et al, 2008), Danish, Spanish (Sanchez-Moreno et al, 2005;Vazquez et al, 2007), Arabic (Karam et al, 2005a) Japanese Kawamura et al, 2010;Matsumoto et al, 2005) and Turkish (Vahip et al, 2005a).…”

Factor analysis of temperament and personality traits in bipolar patients: Correlates with comorbidity and disorder severity

“…The TEMPS-A includes a total of 109 self-rated true/false questions (110 for women) measuring subclinical affective traits and has been shown to have very good reliability, internal consistency, and stability over time (Akiskal et al, 2005a; Akiskal et al, 1998; Kawamura et al, 2010; Perugi et al, 2012; Placidi et al, 1998a; Placidi et al, 1998b), as well as significant heritability in BD families (Greenwood et al, 2013a; Savitz et al, 2008c). The TCI-125 (125-question version) is a self-administered true/false questionnaire that evaluates personality according to a psychobiological model with demonstrated reliability, internal consistency, stability over time, and heritability in both BD families and the general population (Cloninger et al, 1993; Greenwood et al, 2013a; Heath et al, 1994; Keller et al, 2005; Savitz et al, 2008c).…”