Low affective temperament consistency during development: Results from a large retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Temperament is still regarded as a stable part of personality, an "endophenotype" developed early in life. However, how frequently temperament traits can change throughout life is not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate affective temperament changes from late childhood to adolescence and from late adolescence to adulthood. METHODS: We used data from a cross-sectional web-based survey collected from the Brazilian Internet Study on Temperament and Psychopathology. We used the Affective and Emotional Composite Temperament Scale questionnaire to assess temperament at time of participation, and at age of 10-12 and 18 years, retrospectively, dividing affective temperaments into four major groups: internalized, externalized, stable and unstable. The final sample consisted of 36,255 participants from 24 to 40 years of age (71.9% women). RESULTS: Most of the sample (66.2%) changed to a different affective temperament group at adulthood. We found a significant decrease in internalized temperaments from 10-12 to 18 years of age (34.5% to 25.0% in women and 31.8% to 26.7% in men), parallel with an increase of externalized temperaments (14.1% to 20.3% in women and 17.3% to 19.6% in men). From 18 years of age to adult life, stable temperaments decreased slightly in frequency (37.9% to 32.5% in women and 38.6% to 36.8% in men), while unstable types increased (16.9% to 24.0% in women and 15.3% to 18.4% in men). LIMITATIONS: The retrospective design and self-reported evaluation may bias self-perception. CONCLUSIONS: Affective temperaments often change over time, contrary to the classic view of temperament as a consistent phenotype.

Incidence of suicide among military police officers in South Brazil: An 11-year retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is known to be the leading cause of death among police officers (PO) worldwide. However, most studies were conducted in developed countries, with no data from Brazil. The present study aimed to evaluate the incidence and the sociodemographic profile of suicide among a military PO subpopulation in South Brazil. METHODS: This retrospective cohort evaluated 31,110 military PO with available data on cause of death from 2006 to 2016. Participants were monitored for an average of 18.8 ±â€¯9.6 years following the date of entry into the military police. RESULTS: Mean age at the end of the follow up time was 41.4 ±â€¯9.1 years, with 90.7% males. A total of 650 participants died (2.1%), with 43 suicides (6.6% of all deaths) - cumulative incidence of 138/100,000. Bivariate analysis revealed a significant association (p < 0.05) between suicide and age (HR = 0.70, 95%CI = 0.66-0.74), females (HR = 1.67, 95%CI = 1.08-2.60) and enlisted military rank (HR = 14.9, 95%CI = 2.05-108.5). Multivariate models showed an independent association between suicide and age (HR = 0.71, 95%CI = 0.67-0.74) and enlisted military rank (HR = 9.96, 95%CI = 1.30-76.3). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of suicide among military PO in South Brazil was high, compared to the national suicide rate. Younger age and lower military rank were independent predictors of suicide in this subpopulation.