ABSTRACT
This research intended to compare personality characteristics, neurosis and depression in self-inflicted burn patients and normal women in Ahvaz. The research designed as post hoc [causal comparative] study. The subjects of the study consisted of 100 self-inflicted burn female patients admitted to Taleghani burn hospital who were selected via incidental sampling procedure and 100 ordinary females. The group was selected randomly by simple sampling method among Ahvaz female population uninvolved with burn. The age of both samples ranged 14 through 81 years. In order to assess personality characteristics, neurosis and depression, three standardized methods were used: NEO-PI-R, Beck Depression Inventory. Data were analyzed by ANOVA test, considering a P value of less than 0.05 as significant. There were significant differences between self-inflicted and ordinary women in terms of their personality characteristics [P<0.05], neurosis [P<0.001] and depression [P<0.001]. The presence of higher rate of depression and neurosis as well as differences in personality traits among self-inflicted burn females suggest that these variables contribute to this devastating phenomena in this city