Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms in an adult sample: Associations with Cloninger’s temperament and character dimensions

• Published in: Personality and individual differences 2012-02, Vol.52 (3), p.290-294
• Main Authors: Gomez, Rapson, Woodworth, Rosalind, Waugh, Megan, Corr, Philip J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ADHD; Attention deficit disorders. Hyperactivity; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Biological and medical sciences; Child clinical studies; Cooperation; Harm Avoidance; Hyperactivity; Inattention; Medical sciences; Novelty Seeking; Persistence; Personality; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reinforcement; Reward Dependence; Self-Directedness; Self-Transcendence; Symptoms; Temperament
• ISSN: 0191-8869; 1873-3549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2011.10.015

► Study examined relation between Cloninger’s model and ADHD. ► Previous studies failed to control potential confounding effects. ► Current study controlled these effects. ► Inattention associated with Harm Avoidance (positive) and Self-Directedness (negative). ► Hyperactivity/impulsivity associated with Persistence. Relationships between C.R. Cloninger’s temperament and character dimensions and the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms of inattention (IA) and hyperactivity/impulsivity (HI) were examined in 231 adults from the general population. Regression analyses that predicated overall ADHD, IA and HI by the seven temperament/character dimensions revealed: IA was predicted positively by Harm Avoidance and negatively by Self-Directedness; HI was predicted positively by Persistence; and overall ADHD was predicted negatively by Self-Directedness. These findings are also interpreted in terms of current theories of ADHD, and the related original and revised versions of Gray’s reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) of personality.