Personality traits and psychiatric comorbidities in alcohol dependence

Non-adaptive personality traits may constitute risk factors for development of psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. We aim to evaluate associations and the predictive value of personality traits among alcohol-dependent individuals, with or without psychiatric comorbidities. The convenience sample comprised two groups of males over 18 years of age: one with subjects who had an alcohol dependence diagnosis (AG, n=110), and a control group without abuse and/or alcohol dependence diagnosis (CG, n=110). The groups were assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview DSM-IV (SCID-IV). AG participants were recruited among outpatients from the university hospital, whereas CG participants were recruited from a primary healthcare program. Data collection was done individually with self-assessment instruments. Parametric statistics were performed, and a significance level of P=0.05 was adopted. A positive correlation was observed between openness and the length of time that alcohol has been consumed, as were significant and negative correlations between conscientiousness and both the length of time alcohol has been consumed and the number of doses. For alcoholics, extraversion emerged as a protective factor against depression development (P=0.008) and tobacco abuse (P=0.007), whereas openness worked as a protective factor against anxiety (P=0.02). The findings point to specific deficits presented by alcoholics in relation to personality traits with or without psychiatric comorbidities and to the understanding that therapeutic approaches should favor procedures and/or preventive measures that allow more refined awareness about the disorder.