TEMPS-A (Rome): Psychometric validation of affective temperaments in clinically well subjects in mid- and south Italy

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders 2008-04, Vol.107 (1), p.63-75
• Main Authors: Pompili, Maurizio, Girardi, Paolo, Tatarelli, Roberto, Iliceto, Paolo, De Pisa, Eleonora, Tondo, Leonardo, Akiskal, Kareen K, Akiskal, Hagop S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety disorders; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Argentina; Biological and medical sciences; Bipolar Disorder - diagnosis; Bipolar Disorder - psychology; Cross-Cultural Comparison; Cyclothymic Disorder - diagnosis; Cyclothymic Disorder - psychology; Dysthymic Disorder - diagnosis; Dysthymic Disorder - psychology; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Humans; Irritable Mood; Italy; Lebanon; Male; Medical sciences; Mood Disorders - diagnosis; Mood Disorders - psychology; Personality Assessment - statistics & numerical data; Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data; Principal Component Analysis; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychometrics: TEMPS-A; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reliability; Reproducibility of Results; Rome; Sex Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Techniques and methods; Temperament; Temperament - classification; TEMPS-I; Translations
• ISSN: 0165-0327; 1573-2517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2007.07.031

Abstract Background Our aim was to study the psychometrics and factor structure replicability of the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) in its Italian (Rome) Version. The questionnaire is a self-report 110-item measure that postulates five affective temperaments—the depressive, cyclothymic, irritable, hyperthymic, and anxious—which embody both strengths and liabilities along affective reactivity. In Italian, the TEMPS has previously been validated in its original 32-item version, the TEMPS-I (Pisa), one which did not yet include an anxious subscale. Methods The present sample consisted of 948 nonclinical subjects (27.39 years ± 8.22 S.D.). There were 476 men (50.2%: 28.56 years ± 8.63 S.D.) and 472 women (49.8%: 26.21 years ± 7.61 S.D.). Reliability and validity were assessed by standard psychometric tests. Results Principal Components Analysis with Varimax rotation resulted in a 3-factor solution: the first with highest explained variance (8.84%) represents Dysthymic, Cyclothymic and Anxious (Dys–Cyc–Anx) temperaments combined; the second identifies Irritable temperament (5.65% of variance); and the third Hyperthymic temperament (5.16% of variance). Cronbach Alpha coefficients for the three subscales were respectively .89, .77 and .74. The rates for the Dys–Cyc–Anx were 2.7%, and for the Irritable 3.1%. Despite the low rate of the Hyperthymic temperament (.2%), nonetheless 16% were between 1st and 2nd SD. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a positive loading combining Dys–Cyc–Anx with the Irritable; the Hyperthymic loaded negatively on this factor. In terms of dominant temperaments, based on z -scores, 2.7% were dysthymic, 1.7% cyclothymic, .7% hyperthymic, 3.5% irritable and 3% anxious. Limitation Although developed for self-rated use, the Italian authors nonetheless administered the TEMPS-A in an interview format. It is uncertain in what ways this procedure could have influenced our results, if any. Another limitation is that we did not assess test–retest reliability. Conclusions These data identify at least 3-factors, Dys–Cyc–Anx and Irritable (which are correlated), and Hyperthymic, which is uncorrelated with the others. Though our data are reminiscent of the neuroticism–extraversion distinction, importantly traits are operationalized in affective terms. Beyond the well-known relationship between the Dysthymic and Cyclothymic subscales and that between the Dysthymic and Anxious, the present data