The purpose of this study was to investigate the temperament and character patterns in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and to determine whether any presupposed relationship between harm avoidance, self-directedness, self-transcedence scores and dissociation in patients with OCD is present.

The study sample comprised of 43 patients with OCD (26 females) and 44 healthy controls (29 females). All subjects were assessed with the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Dissociation was quantified by the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in OCD group were assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). Correlation, unpaired t-test with Bonferroni correction for seven comparisons, and multiple linear regression analyses were performed.

OCD patients had significantly higher scores of harm avoidance and self-directedness compared with healthy comparison subjects. Dissociative experiences were more frequent in OCD patients comparing with controls. DES scores had negative correlation with self-directedness and positively correlated with self-transcedence scores, as well as with BDI-II and BAI scores in OCD group. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the severity of depressive symptoms, self-directedness and self-transcedence scores predicted the DES score. There was no significant correlation between severity of OCD symptoms and patterns of temperament and character.

Dissociation is associated with self-directedness and self-transcedence dimensions of the Temperament and Character Inventory in OCD subjects. It emphasize the importance of considering the influence of dissociation in further studies of personality factors in neuropsychiatric conditions.

This research was supported by grant MZ ČR IGA 9323-3/2007.