Abstract
The personality characteristics of 208 depressed patients of both sexes were studied by means of a Swedish personality inventory-the KSP-when the patients had recovered from the depressive syndrome. The patients in the study were divided into unipolars, bipolars, neurotic-reactive and “unspecified”, i.e. those patients who did not meet the criteria for inclusion in any of the aforementioned groups. Female patients scored higher on variables of anxiety and psychasthenia and male patients scored higher on variables indicating distance preference and hostility. Several traits, in particular those reflecting aggression-out and hostility-out, appeared to be negatively correlated with age, whereas inhibition of aggression appeared to be positively related with age. Bipolar patients scored slightly differently from unipolars in many variables but none of the differences was significant. Neurotic-reactive patients distinguished themselves from the other in variables of aggressionout. Several interrelations between different personality characteristics and aspects of aggression have been investigated. Significant correlation could be shown between aspects of aggression and socialization, impulsiveness and aspects of anxiety. A positive correlation was shown between inhibition of aggression and social desirability, and both variables were shown to correlate with age. It is concluded that the difference in inhibition of aggression between “endogenous” and “non-endogenous” patients found in earlier studies might be due to a difference in age, and to the influence of social desirability.
Zusammenfassung
Die Persönlichkeitseigenschaften von 208 deprimierten Patienten beiderlei Geschlechts wurden mit Hilfe eines schwedischen Persönlichkeitstest, dem KSP untersucht, nachdem die Patienten sich vom depressiven Syndrom erholt hatten.
Die Patienten wurden in folgende Gruppen eingeteilt: monopolare, bipolare, neurotisch-reaktive und „nicht-spezifiziert“, d. h. solche Patienten, die die Kriterien für keine der vorhergenannten Gruppen erfüllten.
Weibliche Patienten erzielten höhere Werte bei den Variablen „Angst“ und „Psychasthenie“ und männliche Patienten bei den Variablen „Zurück-haltung“ und „Feindseligkeit“. Mehrere Charakterzüge, besonders solche, die nach außen gerichtete Aggression und Feindseligkeit widerspiegeln, zeigten eine negative Korrelation mit dem Alter, wohingegen „Aggressionshemmung“ positiv korrelierte.
In vielen der Variabeln erhielten die bipolaren Patienten etwas unterschiedliche Werte als die monopolaren, jedoch war keiner der Unterschiede signifikant. Neurotisch-reaktive Patienten unterschieden sich von den anderen bezüglich der Variabeln „nach außen gerichtete Aggression“. Einige Wechselbeziehungen zwischen verschiedenen Persönlichkeitseigenschaften und Aggressionsaspekten wurden untersucht. Signifikante Korrelationen erwiesen sich zwischen den Aggressionsskalen und den Skalen „Sozialisation“, „Impulsivität“, „somatische und psychische Angst“.
Eine positive Korrelation ergab sich zwischen „Aggressionshemmung“ und „Sozialer Erwünschtheit“, und beide Variablen korrelierten mit dem Alter. Es wird der Schluß gezogen, daß der bezüglich „Aggressionshem-mung“ in früheren Untersuchungen gefundene Unterschied zwischen „endogenen“ und „nicht-endogenen“ Patienten auf Altersunterschiede und den Einfluß der sozialen Erwünschtheit zurückgeführt werden kann.
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Supported, in part, by grants from the Swedish Medical Research Council (grants nos 21X-5244 and 21P-5740
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Perris, C., Eisemann, M., Ericsson, U. et al. Patterns of aggression in the personality structure of depressed patients. Arch Psychiatr Nervenkr 233, 89–102 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00343430
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00343430
Key words
- Aggression
- Hostility
- Inhibition of aggression
- Unipolar
- Bipolar
- Neurotic-reactive depression
- Socialization
- Impulsiveness KSP