Related Experiment Videos
Low novelty-seeking differentiates obsessive-compulsive disorder from major depression
1Department of Psychiatry, Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake City, Japan.
Objective:
To make a direct comparison of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depression (MD) and a normal control group in terms of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) personality dimensions.
Method:
Additionally to 43 patients with primary OCD, 43 MD patients and 43 normal subjects who were matched against the OCD patients for sex and age filled out the TCI.
Results:
Compared to the controls, the OCD and MD patients scored significantly higher on harm avoidance and significantly lower on self-directedness and co-operativeness. The OCD patients scored significantly lower on novelty-seeking than the MD patients and the controls.
Conclusion:
Whereas OCD and MD share similar personality deviations on harm avoidance, self-directedness and co-operativeness, OCD is distinguishable from MD in terms of low novelty-seeking. Low novelty-seeking may have a profound relationship to the specific aetiology of OCD.