Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Temperament and Character Subscales and Personality Development

Abstract

Background: Personality backgrounds related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have been investigated for several decades. However, the subscales (lower-order traits or component facets) of temperament and character have rarely been mentioned, which are the aims of evaluation in the current cross-sectional study. Methods: Fifty-one OCD patients (aged 30.59±9.49 years old) diagnosed based upon Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder-IV criteria and 53 age- and gender-matched control subjects free of psychiatric diseases (aged 30.23±9.41 years old) were incorporated. Patients and controls completed the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-125). OCD patients completed the inventory for the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) as well. Results: The scores of the TCI seven factors and subscales were compared in OCD patients and control subjects. OCD patients showed a highly significant increase in harm avoidance, anticipatory worry, fear of uncertainty, shyness, fatigability, and persistence. On the other hand, a highly significant decrease was observed in attachment self-directedness, responsibility, purposefulness, resourcefulness, spontaneity, cooperativeness, tolerance, compassion, principledness, transpersonal identification, and personality development. Conclusion: It is concluded that significant temperament and character differences in OCD patients existed, which could be incorporated for further comprehension of OCD and more specific pharmacotherapies and psychotherapies, especially psychotherapies focusing on personality development.