Source
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, Sao Paulo, Brazil. olverar@UTHSCSA.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
We compared temperament and character traits in children and adolescents with bipolar disorder (BP) and healthy control (HC) subjects.
METHOD:
Sixty nine subjects (38 BP and 31 HC), 8-17 years old, were assessed with the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime. Temperament and character traits were measured with parent and child versions of the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory.
RESULTS:
BP subjects scored higher on novelty seeking, harm avoidance, and fantasy subscales, and lower on reward dependence, persistence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness compared to HC (all p < 0.007), by child and parent reports. These findings were consistent in both children and adolescents. Higher parent-rated novelty seeking, lower self-directedness, and lower cooperativeness were associated with co-morbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Lower parent-rated reward dependence was associated with co-morbid conduct disorder, and higher child-rated persistence was associated with co-morbid anxiety.
CONCLUSIONS:
These findings support previous reports of differences in temperament in BP children and adolescents and may assist in a greater understating of BP children and adolescents beyond mood symptomatology.