Affective and Emotional Temperaments: A Comparison of Individuals With Panic Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Healthy Controls

Objective: Up to now, no investigation has applied a complementary approach in terms of the emotional and affective temperament to study Panic Disorder (PD), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and healthy controls. Hence the current study aimed to investigate the affective and emotional temperaments among individuals with PD, PTSD, and healthy controls using an integrative temperament scale.  Method: Three groups of subjects with PD, PTSD, and healthy controls (n=90) were assessed using the Affective and Emotional Composite Temperament Scale (AFECTS). Collected data were analyzed using Multivariate Analysis of Variance.  Results: For emotional temperament, Volition, Inhibition, and Sensitivity were significantly different among groups of PD, PTSD, and healthy controls. Healthy controls had the highest volition amongst all. Patients with PD had higher Inhibition and Sensitivity when compared to the other groups. For affective temperaments, PD was associated with a higher proportion of unstable traits including Dysphoric and Volatile, and also with higher Anxious traits. Moreover, patients with PTSD showed higher levels of Depressive and Obsessive traits when compared to the two other groups.  Conclusion: Specific internalized and unstable traits and also obsessive temperament were associated with PD and PTSD. PD, PTSD, and healthy controls can be distinguished in terms of emotional traits such as volition, inhibition and sensitivity, and affective temperaments including depressive, anxious, dysphoric, volatile, and obsessive. Addressing these features may be important for treatment and preventive strategies.