Characterization of patients with mood disorders for their prevalent temperament and level of hopelessness

BackgroundMood disorders (MD) are disabling conditions throughout the world associated with significant psychosocial impairment. Affective temperaments, as well as hopelessness, may play a significant role in the pathophysiology of MD. The present study was designed to characterize patients with MD for their prevalent affective temperament and level of hopelessness.MethodsFive hundred fifty-nine (253 men and 306 women) consecutive adult inpatients were assessed using the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire version (TEMPS-A), the Gotland Scale for Male Depression (GSMD), the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).ResultsHigher cyclothymia and irritable temperaments were found in bipolar disorder-I (BD-I) patients compared to those with other Axis I diagnoses. Major depressive disorder (MDD) patients had lower hyperthymia than BD-I and BD-II patients and higher anxiety than patients with other Axis I diagnoses. Severe “male” depression was more common in BD-II patients compared to BD-I and MDD patients. BD-I patients and those with other axis I diagnoses reported lower BHS ≥9 scores than those with BD-II and MDD.LimitationsThe study had the limitations of all naturalistic designs, that is, potentially relevant variables were not addressed. Furthermore, the cross-sectional nature of the study did not allow conclusions about causation, and the use of self-report measures could be potentially biased by social desirability.ConclusionMDD patients were more likely to have higher anxious temperament, higher hopelessness and lower hyperthymic temperament scores, while BD-I patients more often had cyclothymic and irritable temperaments than patients with other Axis I diagnoses. The implications of the present results were discussed.