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Temperament, character and suicide attempts in anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and major depression
Author(s) -
Bulik C. M.,
Sullivan P. F.,
Joyce P. R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1999.tb10910.x
Subject(s) - anorexia nervosa , bulimia nervosa , temperament , psychology , temperament and character inventory , psychiatry , eating disorders , depression (economics) , suicide attempt , clinical psychology , poison control , suicide prevention , personality , medicine , psychoanalysis , medical emergency , economics , macroeconomics
Bulik CM, Sullivan PF, Joyce PR. Temperament, character and suicide attempts in anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and major depression. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1999: 100 : 27–32. © Munksgaard 1999. Objective: We examined the relation between personality traits as measured by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and a reported history of suicide attempts in women with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and major depression. Method We compared the prevalence and severity of suicide attempts in women with anorexia nervosa (n = 68), bulimia nervosa (n = 152) and major depression with no history of an eating disorder (n = 59), and we examined the relation between the TCI scales and suicide attempts. Results: Comparable numbers of women across the three groups had attempted suicide. The temperament dimension of high persistence and the character dimensions of low self‐directedness and high self‐transcendence were associated with a reported history of suicide attempts. Conclusion: Suicide attempts are equally common in women with eating disorders and women with depression. Whether the observed association between temperament and suicide attempts reflects correlates, causal factors or sequelae of suicide attempts is unknown.