Temperament and personality features in panic disorder with or without comorbid mood disorders

Abstract

Personality and temperament features, assessed with the Structured Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders-Revised (SIDP-R) and the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), respectively, were evaluated in 62 patients affected by panic disorder with (PD + MD) (n = 22) or without comorbid mood disorder (PD) (n = 40). A significant difference in the prevalence of personality disorders (PD + MD, 86% vs. PD, 62%; P < 0.05), particularly dependent (PD + DM, 50% vs. PD, 17%; P < 0.01) and borderline (PD + DM, 9% vs. PD, 0%; P = 0.05) personality disorders, was observed between the groups. Moreover, patients in the PD + MD group had higher scores for harm avoidance (PD + MD, 22.2 +/- 5.6 vs. PD, 26.9 +/- 5.1; P < 0.05) than patients in the PD group. The harm avoidance score in PD patients was significantly related to personality disorder and not to MD, suggesting that harm avoidance is not associated with greater severity of the illness. Our data confirm the hypothesis that subjects with higher harm avoidance scores have a greater probability of being affected by cluster C personality disorders and comorbid mood and anxiety disorders.

Different temperament and character dimensions correlate with panic disorder comorbidity in bipolar disorder and unipolar depression

“…Previous authors reported higher HA scores in patients with UD and comorbid PD than in patients with UD alone or UD comorbid with other Axis I disorders (Ampollini, Marchesi, Signifredi, & Maggini, 1997;Ampollini et al, 1999;Mulder, Joyce, & Cloninger, 1994). However, it is important to point out that, contrary to NS and RD dimensions, which remain stable in patients with UD over time, HA showed to be highly affected by the mood state of the patient.…”

Early maladaptive schemas, temperament and character traits in clinically depressed and previously depressed subjects

“…Although research has indicated that high harm avoidance and low self-directedness are implicated in vulnerability to depression (Cloninger et al, 2006;Farmer et al, 2003;Richter et al, 2003), similar results have also been found for other psychological disorders (Ampollini, Marchesi, Signifredi, & Maggini, 1997;Loftus, Garno, Jaeger, & Malhotra, 2008;Nery et al, 2008;Sayin, Kuruoglu, Yazici Güleç, & Aslan, 2007). Similarly, EMSs as assessed by the YSQ have been identifi ed in patients with various psychological disorders (Brotchie, Meyer, Copello, Kidney, & Waller, 2004;Delattre et al, 2004;Pinto-Gouveia, Castilho, Galhardo, & Cunha, 2006;Unoka, Tölgyes, & Czobor, 2007;Waller, Dickson, & Ohanian, 2002).…”

Evaluation of personality traits in panic disorder using Swedish universities Scales of Personality

“…Previous studies have proposed an accentuation of some personality traits, including harm avoidance, neuroticism and extraversion, in PD patients with affective comorbidity as compared with those having pure PD (Ampollini et al, 1997;Bienvenu, Nestadt, et al, 2001;Freire et al, 2007). Similarly, Cuijpers et al (2005) found neuroticism to be the trait most strongly related to comorbidity.…”

“…Additionally, significantly stronger harm avoidance was reported in PD patients with affective comorbidity as compared to those with pure PD (Ampollini, Marchesi, Signifredi, & Maggini, 1997). Taken together, studies to date indicate some alterations in personality profiles of patients with PD, which are more pronounced in the presence of comorbid affective disorders.…”