Perna G., Vanni G., Di Chiaro V, Cavedini P, Caldirola D. “Childhood trauma, temperament and character in subjects with Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder” . The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, in press

Abstract
In non-clinical samples, childhood trauma (CT) negatively affected temperament/character traits. In Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Bipolar Disorder (BD) abnormal personality traits were found to impair clinical course/treatment outcome. Although a link between CT and MDD/BD is firmly established, no previous studies explored the relationship between CT and temperament/character in these populations. We investigated this issue in a preliminary sample of inpatients with MDD (n=29) or BD (n=50). We assessed: CT (sexual/physical/emotional abuse, physical/emotional neglect) (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire); personality traits (Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised version); illness severity (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale). We found significant (p<0.01) associations between emotional neglect, emotional abuse, physical neglect and low Self-Directedness (SD). Potential underlying mechanisms are discussed. Since low SD has been previously associated with illness severity and poor outcome, the relationship between CT and low SD might partly explain the well-known negative impact of CT on course and outcome of MDD/BD.