Investigating Personality Elements According to the Cloninger, in Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Inadequate Response to Treatment

Abstract

The aim of the current cross-sectional study is to compare temperament and character in OCD patients with inadequate response to pharmacotherapy with healthy controls.

Material and Methods: Two groups of subjects as cases and controls were recruited in this study: forty-five OCD patients with inadequate response to pharmacotherapy (age: 32.13 ± 9.19 years) and 53 healthy controls (age: 30.23 ± 9.41 years) completed the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-125) and the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). The scores of seven factors and lower order traits were statistically compared in the two groups inadequate response to pharmacotherapy is defined as at least one year of pharmacotherapy including at least two selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) with high dose without significant decrease in the severity of disorder in most symptoms.

Results: The results indicated that compared to healthy controls, OCD patients with inadequate response to pharmacotherapy showed differences similar to previous findings about OCD plus lower reward dependence, empathy and helpfulness and similar persistence.