Association of temperament with subjective sleep patterns.

BACKGROUND: Emotional and cognitive functioning have been involved in insomnia etiology, and sleep disturbances are closely related to psychiatric disorders and personality traits. This study investigates the association of temperament with subjective sleep parameters. METHODS: In this web-survey, 5129 subjects (25.3% males) completed the Combined Emotional and Affective Temperament Scale (CEATS), which assesses emotional (fear, anger, drive and control) and affective (e.g. cyclothymic, hyperthymic) temperaments. Subjects also answered questions regarding subjective sleep parameters, psychiatric diagnosis, psychotropic medication intake and cigarette smoking. RESULTS: As control scores decreased, the later were the bed and the wake up time. Total sleep time was weakly associated with emotional temperaments. The higher the score of anger and the lower the score of control, the higher was the sleep-onset latency. As the anger score increased and the drive, fear and control scores decreased, the higher the number of nightly awakenings. The higher the drive and the control and the lower the anger scores, the better the sleep quality. For affective temperaments, depressives, labiles (related to ADHD) and cyclothymics (related to bipolar II disorders) go to bed and wake up later and have a worse profile regarding other sleep parameters. Hyperthymics and euthymics showed favorable sleep profiles. LIMITATIONS: Sample included a significant number of subjects with psychiatric diseases and on psychotropic medication. CONCLUSION: Dysregulated emotional activation (expressed as higher anger, and lower control and drive), as well as depressive, labile and cyclothymic affective temperaments were related to more dysfunctional sleep patterns.

Validation of the combined emotional and affective temperament scale in a large sample with high prevalence of psychiatric disorders.

BACKGROUND: Based on a model where temperament works as a system with activation, inhibition and control, which produce the affective tone, we developed and validated the Combined Emotional and Affective Temperament Scale (CEATS). This paper aims to validate the CEATS in a large population with high prevalence of psychiatric disorders. METHODS: 4,381 subjects (25.5% males) completed an internet version of the scale on a psychoeducational website on bipolar disorders. The CEATS has both emotional and affective sections and an evaluation of problems and benefits related to temperament. Data were analyzed with standard psychometric batteries. RESULTS: In the emotional section, four factors with an eigenvalue >1 explained 47.3% of the variation. They were interpreted as anger, control, fear and drive. They had a normal distribution and satisfactory Chronbach's alphas. Anger was particularly associated with problems, and drive with benefits. In the Affective section, all 10 categorical affective temperaments were selected, cyclothymic being the most prevalent (32%), and 97.6% of the sample was able to ascribe to at least one affective temperament. Only the euthymic and hyperthymic temperaments were associated with a favorable problem/benefit profile. Each affective temperament had a particular emotional configuration. CONCLUSION: The CEATS is adequate to assess emotional and affective temperament in subjects with high prevalence of psychiatric disorders.

Emotional and affective temperaments and cigarette smoking in a large sample.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco use has been associated with externalized personality traits. Our aim was to evaluate the association of smoking with emotional and affective temperaments in a large sample. METHODS: In this cross-sectional web-based survey, volunteers completed the Combined Emotional and Affective Temperament Scale (CEATS), which assesses emotional (fear, drive, anger, and control) and affective temperaments (e.g. cyclothymic, irritable), and questions about smoking. RESULTS: Among the 5379 subjects (1370 males), there were 60% non-smokers, 17% quitters and 23% current smokers. Non-smokers had higher fear and control and lower anger than quitters and smokers, and higher drive than smokers. Quitters had higher drive and control and lower anger than smokers. Smoking was lower among apathetics, depressives, euthymics and hyperthymics and higher in cyclothymics and labiles. Lower drive and higher anger were associated with heavier smoking. Less adaptive temperament was related to higher prevalence of and heavier smoking. LIMITATIONS: The data was collected from a convenience sample by the internet, and most volunteers assessed the instrument through a psychoeducational website for bipolar spectrum disorders, leading to a higher proportion of cyclothymics; the assessment of smoking habits was limited to two questions; the study was cross-sectional. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking was associated with lower fear, control and drive, higher anger and unstable externalized affective temperaments. Lower control and higher anger were associated with being a heavy smoker and current smoking. Assessment of temperament may help decision about treatments for smoking cessation.

Development and validation of the Combined Emotional and Affective Temperament Scale (CEATS): towards a brief self-rated instrument.

BACKGROUND: Temperament relates to both emotional dimensions and prevailing mood, but these different views are rarely integrated. Based on a model where temperament works as a system with activation, inhibition and control (inspired in Cloninger's and Rothbart's models), which produce the affective tone (inspired by Akiskal's and Kraepelin's model), we developed and validated the Combined Emotional and Affective Temperament Scale (CEATS). METHODS: 1007 subjects (28% males) from the general population and university students filled in the instrument either in the Internet or in a pen and paper version. The CEATS has an emotional section (dimensional only), an Affective section (both dimensional and categorical) and an evaluation of problems and benefits related to temperament. The data was analyzed with standard psychometric batteries and different sections were compared. RESULTS: In the emotional section, 4 factors with Eingenvalue >1 explained 46% of the variation. These factors were interpreted as drive, control, disinhibition-fear and anger, had a normal distribution and had satisfactory Chronbach's alphas (0.70-0.82). Anger was particularly associated with problems and drive with benefits. In the Affective section, all 10 categorical affective temperaments were selected, being euthymic and hyperthymic the most prevalent (18-23%), followed by cyclothymic and irritable (11-13%), anxious and depressive (8-9%) and dysphoric, disinhibited, labile and apathetic temperaments (3-7%). The dimensional evaluation of affective temperaments showed 95% of the sample was able to ascribe to at least one affective temperament. Only the euthymic and hyperthymic temperaments were clearly associated with a favorable problem/benefit profile. The comparison between the emotional and affective sections revealed that each affective temperament had a particular emotional configuration. LIMITATIONS: Both computerized and pen and paper versions were used. The sample was not evaluated for psychiatric symptoms. Quantification of the dimensional assessment of affective temperament is limited. CONCLUSIONS: The CEATS is a brief and adequate instrument to evaluate emotional and affective aspects of temperament simultaneously.