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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

Stability of personality traits over a five-year period in Swedish patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and non-psychotic individuals: a study using the Swedish universities scales of personality

Authors: Tomas Fagerberg, Erik Söderman, J. Petter Gustavsson, Ingrid Agartz, Erik G. Jönsson

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

Personality is considered as an important aspect in persons with psychotic disorders. Several studies have investigated personality in schizophrenia. However, no study has investigated stability of personality traits exceeding three years in patients with schizophrenia. This study aims to investigate the stability of personality traits over a five-year period among patients with schizophrenia and non-psychotic individuals and to evaluate case-control differences.

Methods

Patients with psychotic disorders (n = 36) and non-psychotic individuals (n = 76) completed Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP) at two occasions five years apart. SSP scores were analysed for effect of time and case-control differences by multiple analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and within-subjects correlation.

Results

MANCOVA within-subjects analysis did not show any effect of time. Thus, SSP mean scale scores did not significantly vary during the five-year interval. Within subject correlations (Spearman) ranged 0.30–0.68 and 0.54–0.75 for the different SSP scales in patients and controls, respectively. Patients scored higher than controls in SSP scales Somatic Trait Anxiety, Psychic Trait Anxiety, Stress Susceptibility, Lack of Assertiveness, Detachment, Embitterment, and Mistrust.

Conclusion

The stability of the SSP personality trait was reasonably high among patients with psychotic disorder, although lower than among non-psychotic individuals, which is in accordance with previous research.
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Metadata
Title
Stability of personality traits over a five-year period in Swedish patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and non-psychotic individuals: a study using the Swedish universities scales of personality
Authors
Tomas Fagerberg
Erik Söderman
J. Petter Gustavsson
Ingrid Agartz
Erik G. Jönsson
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-1617-y

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