The tridimensional personality questionnaire: An exploration of personality traits in eating disorders

doi:10.1016/0022-3956(94)90001-9

Journal of Psychiatric Research

Volume 28, Issue 5, September–October 1994, Pages 413-423

https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3956(94)90001-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

The Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) was tested in four subgroups of eating-disorder patients: anorectic-restrictors (AN-R), anorectic-bulimics (AN-B), normal weight bulimics (BN), and bulimics with a past history of anorexia (B-AN). Normal controls and patients were matched for gender and age. All subjects completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in addition to the TPQ. AN-Rs scored lower on the Novelty Seeking scale than thr bulimic groups and controls, and the two normal weight bulimic groups had higher Novelty Seeking scores than the controls. On the Harm Avoidance scale, all eating disorder groups scored significantly higher than the control group. In addition, the AN-Rs scored lower than the AN-Bs and B-ANs. The Harm Avoidance scale and depression scores were positively correlated while the Reward Dependence scale and depression scores were negatively correlated. Differences between diagnostic groups on the Novelty Seeking and Persistence scales remained clearly significant when depression was partialled out. These results are discussed in terms of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire as a stable measure of traits with eating disorder subjects.

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Citation Excerpt :
As hypothesized, Novelty Seeking was significantly correlated with external eating, as in the Vervaet et al. (2004) study, although these authors also found a significant correlation with emotional eating in an ED sample. Other studies have also reported negative relationships with restriction (Kleifield, Sunday, Hurt, & Halmi, 1994; Van den Bree et al., 2006). Regarding Harm Avoidance, the data confirm our hypothesis showing a significant relationship with both the emotional and restrained eating styles, as in Van den Bree et al. (2006) and Vervaet et al. (2004).
Objectives: Eating styles have been studied in both Obesity (OB) and Eating Disorders (ED), but they have not been examined in these two weight conditions together. The present study explores differences in eating styles in an Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and OB sample, compared to Healthy Controls (HC), and it analyses their relationship with Body Mass Index (BMI) and personality traits. Method: The total sample consisted of 291 female participants (66 AN, 79 OB and 146 HC). Evaluation: Assessment measures included the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire-DEBQ- and the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised-TCI-R-. Results: The MANCOVA test showed significant differences among the three groups for all eating styles, with emotional eating being more typical in the OB group and restrained eating more typical in the AN group. Partial correlation analyses showed relationships between emotional and external eating and BMI, as well as relationships with different temperament and character traits. The stepwise discriminant function analysis showed that the DEBQ correctly classified 65.6% of the sample into the three weight categories; when combined with the TCI-R, correct classification increased to 72.6%. Conclusions: Weight conditions showed different eating behaviour patterns. Temperament and character traits were related to eating behaviours. DEBQ and TCI-R were able to discriminate between groups. Differences in eating styles in the weight groups can have implications for understanding the development and maintenance of OB and ED.
Personality features of obese women in relation to binge eating and night eating
2013, Psychiatry Research
Personality traits can affect eating behaviors, the development of obesity, and obesity treatment failure. We investigated the personality characteristics and their relation with disordered eating in 586 obese women consecutively seeking treatment at eight Italian medical centers (age, 47.7±9.8 years) and 185 age-matched, normal weight women without symptoms of eating disorders (Eating Attitude Test<20). The assessment included anthropometry, the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), the Binge Eating Scale (BES) and the Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ). Logistic regression analyses were carried out in different models with BES score≥27 and NEQ≥30 as dependent variables and TCI scores as independent factors. Personality traits of obese individuals included significantly lower self-directedness and cooperativeness on TCI. BES and NEQ scores were higher in obese women, and values above the defined cut-offs were present in 77 and 18 cases (14 with high BES), respectively. After controlling for age and BMI, high BES values were associated with high novelty seeking and harm avoidance and low self-directedness, the last two scales being also associated with high NEQ. We conclude that personality traits differ between obese patients seeking treatment and controls, and the presence of disordered eating is associated with specific personality characteristics.
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This article reports on a meta-analysis of Cloninger's temperament dimensions (novelty seeking, harm avoidance, reward dependence, and persistence) in individuals with lifetime psychiatric disorders compared with controls and on interdisorder comparisons between these disorders. Nine disorders from 75 studies were included in the meta-analyses. The most consistent feature was elevated harm avoidance: compared with the controls, harm avoidance was higher in all diagnostic groups studied except for those with alcohol use disorders. The increase in effect sizes in harm avoidance scores varied from a very large (d = 2.66) in social phobia to a small effect (effect size, d = 0.29) in alcohol use disorders. In other dimensions, differences between cases and controls were relatively small. However, in pairwise comparisons, notable differences also in other dimensions emerged: in novelty seeking, the lowest scores were in social phobia (d = −0.87) and the highest in bulimia nervosa (d = 0.33); in reward dependence, the lowest scores were in schizophrenia (d = −0.36) and the highest in social phobia (d = 0.12); and in persistence, the lowest scores were in social phobia (d = −0.30) and the highest in anorexia nervosa (d = 0.49). The provided data should be taken into account in the future studies on suggestive vulnerability markers for psychiatric morbidity.
Suicide attempts in anorexia nervosa subtypes
2011, Comprehensive Psychiatry
The risk for suicide attempts is elevated in anorexia nervosa (AN), yet we know little about the relation between suicide and personality in this group. We explored the prevalence of lifetime suicide attempts in women with AN and compared those who had and had not attempted suicide on eating disorder symptoms, general psychopathology, and personality both relative to a healthy control group and then across AN subtypes.
One hundred four outpatients with restricting AN, 68 outpatients with purging AN, and 146 comparison individuals participated in the study.
The prevalence of suicide attempts differed significantly across the 3 groups (P = .003), with 0% in the controls, 8.65% in the restricting AN group, and 25.0% in the purging AN group. Depression measures were elevated in those with suicide attempts. Within the restricting AN group, those who attempted suicide scored significantly higher on Phobic Anxiety, measured by means of the Symptom Checklist–Revised, than those who did not (P = .001).
The presence of purging and depressive symptoms in individuals with AN should increase vigilance for suicidality; and among restrictors, greater anxiety may index greater suicide risk.
Personality and psychopathology in children with and without loss of control over eating
2010, Comprehensive Psychiatry
In children with loss of control (LOC) over eating, recent research has revealed evidence for distinct personality features, such as more impulsivity. The aim of this study was to assess parent- and child-report personality profiles in children with and without LOC over eating and to relate these profiles to general and eating-disorder psychopathology.
A total of 120 children (60 with LOC over eating; 68 girls) aged 8 to 13 years were recruited from the community. Clinical interview, self-report, and parent-report questionnaires were administered to assess personality as well as both general and eating-disorder psychopathology.
The group with LOC over eating showed lower self-directedness and cooperativeness compared to the group without LOC. The children with LOC were significantly more impulsive. Personality dimensions were significantly correlated with greater general but not eating-disorder psychopathology and frequency of LOC over eating.
A distinct pattern of personality traits in children with LOC over eating was found that is partly in line with research on binge-eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and obesity in adulthood. The findings suggest that longitudinal studies should examine whether certain patterns of personality in children with LOC over eating account for differences in psychopathology later in life.

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The tridimensional personality questionnaire: An exploration of personality traits in eating disorders

Abstract

Appetite

Comprehensive Psychiatry

Biological Psychiatry

Biological Psychiatry

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Comprehensive Psychiatry

An inventory for measuring depression

Archives of General Psychiatry

Psychiatric comorbidity in patients with eating disorders

Psychological Medicine

The tridimensional personality questionnaire in eating disorder patients

International Journal of Eating Disorders

The monoamine hypothesis of depression: The role of serotonin

The relationship of personality to mood and anxiety states: A dimensional approach

Journal of Psychiatric Research

Personality features of women with good outcome from restricting anorexia nervosa

Psychosomatic Medicine

A systematic method for clinical description and classification of personality variants

Archives of General Psychiatry

Neurogenetic adaptive mechanisms in alcoholism

Science

Childhood personality predicts alcohol abuse in young adults

Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research

Classifications of anorexia nervosa; question of subtypes

International Journal of Eating Disorders