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Risk Aversion Among Depressed Older Adults with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder

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Abstract

Despite considerable research on depression in older adults, few studies have included individuals with personality disorders or have used laboratory tasks to examine behavioral correlates of depression among older adults. This study used the Bechara Gambling Task to examine the hypothesis that depressed older adults with co-morbid personality disorders (n = 59) would demonstrate greater aversion to risk, when compared with older adult controls without depression or personality disorders (n = 34). Results indicated weak support for the notion that depressed individuals are more risk averse than non-depressed controls, and stronger support for the role of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) in risk aversion. Individuals with OCPD became considerably more risk averse as the task progressed, compared with controls. In addition, the severity of OCPD features, rather than depression, accounted for increased risk aversion in depressed older adults with OCPD.

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Acknowledgements

Work on this manuscript was supported by NIMH K23 MH01614-01A3 (T.R.L.). In addition, this study was supported by the Conte Centers for the Neuroscience of Depression under NIMH Grant P50 MH60451 (P.I. Krishnan).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Alexander L. Chapman

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Duke University and Duke University Medical Center, Box 3026, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Thomas R. Lynch, M. Zachary Rosenthal, Jennifer S. Cheavens, Moria J. Smoski & K. Ranga Rama Krishnan

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  1. Alexander L. Chapman
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  2. Thomas R. Lynch
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  3. M. Zachary Rosenthal
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Correspondence to Thomas R. Lynch.

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Chapman, A.L., Lynch, T.R., Rosenthal, M.Z. et al. Risk Aversion Among Depressed Older Adults with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. Cogn Ther Res 31, 161–174 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9114-x

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