Temperament and character in eating disorders: Ten years of studies

Abstract

In recent years a number of studies of personality have been performed in subjects with Eating Disorders (EDs) to investigate the clinical differences between controls and ED patients and among EDs subtypes, and its role in the development and course of symptoms. The Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) have been widely used at this purpose, allowing the description of specific temperament and character profiles for EDs. High Harm Avoidance (HA) and low Self-Directedness (SD) are shared by all EDs. Slight differences on some facets have been found among ED subgroups. Nevertheless, HA is influenced by mood and both high HA and low SD are personality traits shared by many mental disorders, whose specificity is rather low. Restrictor anorectics are characterized by high Persistence (P) and a relatively higher SD, and bulimics by higher Novelty Seeking (NS) and the lowest SD, while binge/purging and purging anorectics share some traits with anorexia and some with bulimia. Though current data justify the discrimination among anorexia subtypes, they are not in contrast with the thesis of a continuum in ED personality traits. Since some personality traits display a prognostic value with regard to therapy and clinical outcome, further studies are needed on treatments and prognostic factors in EDs. Moreover, studies attempting to define the neurobiological and genetic correlates of temperament should be supported by clinical pharmacological trials.

Eating problems and personality traits. An Italian pilot study among 992 high school students

“…The result concerning Harm Avoidance is supported by similar results emerged from the studies by Leon et al (1993) and Leon, Keel, Klump, and Fulkerson (1997), though they used different personality measures (Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire). Furthermore, a high score on Harm Avoidance is common in EDs (Fassino et al, 2004). Anyway, in the current study the result about Harm Avoidance is no longer statistically significant when the regression analysis is performed.…”

“…This may be explained as follows: most of the studies reporting a high score on Harm Avoidance in EDs do not control for personal data and clinical variables (Fassino et al, 2004), and the score on Harm Avoidance is influenced by the illness state. Further, a high Harm Avoidance and negative affectivity are frequently found also in other psychiatric disorders (Abrams et al, 2004) and may be vulnerability factors for overall psychopathology rather than a predisposition specifically for EDs (Leon et al, 1997).…”

“…The association of specific personality traits or disorders with the subsequent development of eating and weight problems is still debated (Bulik et al, 2006;Johnson, Cohen, Kasen, & Brook, 2006). Though there is abundant literature about personality in EDs and its dimensional assessment with the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) or the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) (Cloninger, Przybeck, & Svrakic, 1993;Cloninger, Przybeck, Svrakic, & Wetzel, 1994;Fassino, Amianto, Gramaglia, Facchini, & Abbate Daga, 2004), only a few studies addressed the role of personality on eating attitudes (Leon, Fulkerson, Perry, & Cudeck, 1993) with a specific instrument (Gendall, Sullivan, Joyce, Fear, & Bulik, 1997;Gendall et al, 1998;Miotto, De Coppi, Frezza, Rossi, & Preti, 2002).…”

Major Depression and Avoidant Personality Traits in Eating Disorders

“…Other factors that should be addressed are depressive personality traits. Instability and emotional liability, avoidant behaviors and depressive traits have been frequently found in ED patients [5,6] . Some studies [7][8][9] have identified groups of patients with comorbid avoidant behaviors, depressed mood and constricted affect.…”

The genetics of anorexia nervosa collaborative study: Methods and sample description

“…[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Substantial evidence supports that many of these traits exist premorbidly, are heritable, are elevated in unaffected family members, persist after recovery from the disorder, and are independent of body weight. 9,17,19,20,[24][25][26][27][28] Therefore, we postulate these traits confer liability to the development of AN.…”