No abstract available.
Temperament*

OBJECTIVES: To compare the biogenetic temperament and character patterns of subjects with narcolepsy and those of healthy control subjects. METHODS: Twenty-two subjects with narcolepsy, diagnosed with the International Classification of Sleep Disorder (ICSD) criteria, and 22 healthy control subjects were recruited. The Korean version of the Temperament and Character Inventory was administered to all subjects. RESULTS: Compared to healthy control subjects, subjects with narcolepsy showed significantly higher Novelty-Seeking (ANCOVA, F=5.42, p=0.025), lower Persistence (F=8.41, p=0.006) and lower Self-Directedness scores (F=4.70, p=0.036). CONCLUSION: Narcoleptic patients have a distinct pattern of biogenetic temperament and character. Our findings suggest that narcoleptic patients are exploratory in response to novelty but give up easily. In addition, our findings show that narcoleptic patients consider themselves ineffective, purposeless, and fragile.
Classification ; Humans ; Narcolepsy* ; Temperament*

Several studies have linked teachers' personality characteristics and sense of efficacy to stress. However, investigating the relationship between these three constructs in this context was limited. This study aims to investigate the relationship between personality, sense of efficacy and perceived stress among Korean teachers. A total of 137 teachers working in elementary, middle, and high schools located in Seoul, South Korea were recruited for the study. The participants were administered Temperament and Character Inventory, Teacher's Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), and Perceived Stress Scale. The TSES was negatively correlated with harm avoidance and positively correlated with persistence, self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence. Perceived stress was positively correlated with harm avoidance and negatively correlated with persistence and self-directedness. The path analysis showed that harm avoidance directly predicted perceived stress (β=0.37, 95% CI=0.21–0.53, p=0.002), and self-directedness and persistence predicted one's sense of efficacy (β=0.18, 95% CI=0.01–0.39 and β=0.31, 95% CI=0.10–0.47), which predicted perceived stress (β=-0.21, 95% CI=-0.39 to -0.02). The results of the present study indicate that harm avoidance might be associated with stress-proneness, while persistence, self-directedness, and sense of efficacy might act as protective resources against stress in Korean teachers.
Humans ; Korea ; Seoul ; Temperament

OBJECTIVES: In previous studies, both temperament and character were known as an important factor to determine the extent of social support. The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of temperament and character on social support. METHODS: A total 4329 participants completed questionnaires, which included Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). This study used Pearson's correlation to evaluate the correlation between TCI dimensions and LSNS. To find the most influential TCI dimension for LSNS, multiple regression analysis was performed for this study. RESULTS: TCI dimensions showed significant mean differences depending on gender (p<0.001). LSNS had highest positive correlation with reward dependence (r=0.357, p<0.001). Three dimensions of TCI (Persistence, Self-Directedness, Cooperativeness) had positive correlation with LSNS (p<0.001). Harm avoidance had negative correlation with LSNS (r=-0.237, p<0.001). According to the results of the multiple regression analysis, reward dependence is the most influential TCI dimension (beta=0.261, t=15.963, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: This result shows that social support is affected by properties of temperament and character. Therefore, to measure properties of temperament and character will help to assess social support.
Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Reward ; Temperament

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the relationship of personality traits with dopamine D4 receptor(DRD4) exon III polymorphism in a Korean population. METHODS: We analysed DRD4 exon III 48-bp repeats polymorphism in 173 Korean healthy female adolescents(age=13.88+/-0.29 years) who also completed Temperament and Character Inventory(TCI). RESULTS: Novelty seeking score of the TCI was significantly higher in the subjects with DRD4 long alleles(>or=5 repeats) compared with the subjects without these(t=2.11, p=0.037). CONCLUSION: The present study supports the previous reports that long repeats of the DRD4-exon III polymorphism are related with Novelty Seeking personality.
Dopamine* ; Exons ; Female ; Humans ; Receptors, Dopamine* ; Temperament

OBJECTIVES: In order to improve the life satisfaction, we should be aware of psychological factors associated the life satisfaction. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of depression, anxiety, temperament, and character on life satisfaction in college students. METHODS: A total 314 participants completed questionnaires, which included Satisfaction with Life Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck Anxiety Inventory, The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised. To evaluate the difference according to social factor, t-test and one-way analysis of variance were performed. To analyze the effect of psychological characteristics on life satisfaction, stepwise multiple regression analysis was used. RESULTS: Life satisfaction was significantly different according to only gender of the social factors. Life satisfaction was positively correlated with self-esteem, self-directedness, and persistence (P). Conversely, depression, anxiety, harm avoidance, and novelty seeking (NS) were negatively correlated. Stepwise multiple regression revealed that depression, self-esteem, P, NS, and self-transcendence were factors affecting life satisfaction in university students. CONCLUSION: This result shows that life satisfaction is influenced by depression, self-esteem, temperament, and character. The findings of this study suggest that to improve the life satisfaction requires not only preventing and treatment of depression but also identifying the psychological characteristics, such as temperament and character.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Temperament

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between personality of parent and offspring, and offspring's psychological adaptation. METHODS: We examined temperament and character of 65 parents and their offspring (measured using the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory and Temperament and Character Inventory) and offspring's internalizing (anxiety, depression) and externalizing (delinquency, hyperactivity) problems. RESULTS: The internalizing problems of offspring were positively associated with harm avoidance (HA) of offspring and parent, and negatively associated with self-directedness (SD) of offspring and parent. The externalizing problems of offspring were positively associated with novelty seeking of offspring, and were predicted by SD of parent. The interaction between parent's HA and offspring's HA predicted higher levels of anxiety of offspring. CONCLUSION: The association between the offspring's personality and internalizing and externalizing problems can depend on the personality of the parent.
Adaptation, Psychological* ; Anxiety ; Humans ; Parents ; Temperament

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to exam whether personality, i.e. temperament and character, has an association with a previous presence of psychotic features in euthymic bipolar I disorder. METHODS: We recruited 25 psychotic patients with bipolar I disorder, 23 non-psychotic bipolar I patients and 48 normal controls. All subjects were asked to perform Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Euthymic state was defined in bipolar patients by scores of below 10 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and on the Young Manic Rating Scale (YMRS). RESULTS: Psychotic bipolar patients, compared to normal controls, showed higher harm avoidance (HA) and self-transcendence (ST). In addition, HA in psychotic bipolar patients was higher than that in non-psychotic bipolar patients. However, no significant differences on TCI were demonstrated between non-psychotic patients and normal controls. CONCLUSION: There are significant discrepancies in personality between psychotic and non-psychotic bipolar patients on HA and ST. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis of a continuum between bipolar disorder with psychotic features and psychotic disorders.
Bipolar Disorder ; Depression ; Humans ; Psychotic Disorders ; Temperament*

Freud once emphasized the importance of both temperamental and environmental factors as the cause of mental illness while he discussed about 'the Nature and the Nurture'. And because of the limitation to discover the nature of the constitutional factor, he said, he focused on the environmental factor as the way through which we better approch to treat patients. As a psychoanalyst originally from neurological background, he though believed that there should be 'the biological bedrock' in every psychological phenominon. And one good example is that 'ego' comes from 'body ego'. Before and after him, in the history of psychiatry, the most popular idea is that body(brain) and mind are inseparable. During the past half century, there has been remarkable progress in the biological psychiatry field, which gives us a great opportunity to investigate the relationship between body and mind more in detail. So many biological psychiatrists suggest hypothetical theories to define the cause and the nature of mental illness. Some of them(like E Kendal) even darely propose the explanation of the psychological phenomena in biological terms. However, as Freud once hinted, we may never explain the nature of mental phenomena as a whole since there always will remain what we may never know no matter how hardly we try to know. It is because that is exactly the very nature of 'the unconsciousness' that is the most mystical part of brain.
Biological Psychiatry ; Brain ; Humans ; Psychiatry ; Temperament

OBJECTIVES: In previous studies, significant correlations between depression or somatization and the mode of anger expression were reported. However few studies were done in psychiatric patients, while some evidences were found that anger expression as well as anger suppression were related to development of somatization. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of the state-trait anger and the mode of anger expression to depression and somatization in psychiatiric patients. METHODS: The depression and somatization questionnaire of SCL-90-R and Korean Adaptation of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory were administered to 53 psychiatric patients and 59 normals. The relationship of anger to depression and somatization was analyzed by correlation and regression analyses. RESULTS: In comparison with the normal control group, the psychiatric patient group showed significant differences on trait anger temperament but no significant differences on other anger variables. In regression analysis, the anger-in score was related to depression and somatization. However, the degree of explanatory power was higher in depression than in somatization. In the case of analyzing the state-trait anger, anger-in was significant predictor variable for depression in psychiatric patient group. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that anger-in is the important factor in the onset of depression and somatization. Rather than the relationship of anger-in and somatization, the relationship of anger-in and depression is higher; therefore the caution is necessary in the interpretation of previous studies. The relationship of anger-in to depression and somatization may have important implications for psychotherapy.
Anger* ; Depression* ; Humans ; Psychotherapy ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Temperament