The role of affective temperaments as a factor of vulnerability to seasonal affective disorder

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders 2024-11, Vol.364, p.96-103
• Main Authors: Iorio, Carla, Barlattani, Tommaso, Pacitti, Francesca, Iorio, Paola, Pompili, Assunta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Affect; Affective temperaments; Anxiety - psychology; Anxious temperament; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cyclothymic Disorder - psychology; Cyclothymic temperament; Female; Humans; Male; Risk Factors; Seasonal affective disorder; Seasonal Affective Disorder - psychology; Seasonality; Seasons; Subsyndromal seasonal affective disorder; Surveys and Questionnaires; Temperament; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0165-0327; 1573-2517; 1573-2517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.049

Growing evidence suggests the relevance of affective temperaments in the development of mood disorders. This study aims to assess their potential role as a vulnerability factor for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and subsyndromal SAD (S-SAD) in a sample of young individuals without a history of clinical diagnosis. Eight hundred and forty-six university students were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Participants were evaluated for exclusion and inclusion criteria and divided into Control, S-SAD, and SAD groups. They filled out two self-administered questionnaires to assess the degree of seasonality problems and the predominant type of affective temperaments, the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ), and the Temperament Evaluation Instrument of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-Auto-questionnaire version scale (briefTEMPS-M version). We conducted a multinomial logistic regression model to explore the relationship between affective temperaments and seasonality. Our results evidenced that cyclothymic [χ2 (2) = 33.486, p