Sven Brändström

Temperament and Character in the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS): Comparison to the General Population, and Genetic Structure Analysis

Background The Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS) is an on-going, large population-based longitudinal twin study. We aimed (1) to investigate the reliability of two different versions (125-items and 238-items) of Cloningers Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) used in the CATSS and the validity of extracting the short version from the long version, (2) to compare these personality dimensions between twins and adolescents from the general population, and (3) to investigate the genetic structure of Cloningers model. Method Reliability and correlation analyses were conducted for both TCI versions, 2,714 CATSS-twins were compared to 631 adolescents from the general population, and the genetic structure was investigated through univariate genetic analyses, using a model-fitting approach with structural equation-modeling techniques based on same-sex twin pairs from the CATSS (423 monozygotic and 408 dizygotic pairs). Results The TCI scores from the short and long versions showed comparable reliability coefficients and were strongly correlated. Twins scored about half a standard deviation higher in the character scales. Three of the four temperament dimensions (Novelty Seeking, Harm Avoidance, and Persistence) had strong genetic and non-shared environmental effects, while Reward Dependence and the three character dimensions had moderate genetic effects, and both shared and non-shared environmental effects. Conclusions Twins showed higher scores in character dimensions compared to adolescents from the general population. At least among adolescents there is a shared environmental influence for all of the character dimensions, but only for one of the temperament dimensions (i.e., Reward Dependence). This specific finding regarding the existence of shared environmental factors behind the character dimensions in adolescence, together with earlier findings showing a small shared environmental effects on character among young adults and no shared environmental effects on character among adults, suggest that there is a shift in type of environmental influence from adolescence to adulthood regarding character.

Who becomes a sperm donor: personality characteristics in a national sample of identifiable donors

Please cite this paper as: Sydsjö G, Lampic C, Brändström S, Gudmundsson J, Karlström P, Solensten N, Thurin‐Kjellberg A, Skoog Svanberg A. Who becomes a sperm donor: personality characteristics in a national sample of identifiable donors. BJOG 2012;119:33–39.

Personality characteristics in a Swedish national sample of identifiable oocyte donors

Please cite this paper as: Sydsjö G, Lampic C, Brändström S, Gudmundsson J, Karlström P, Solensten N, Thurin‐Kjellberg A, Svanberg A. Personality characteristics in a Swedish national sample of identifiable oocyte donors. BJOG 2011;118:1067–1072.

The Swedish Version of the Parent-Rated Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (J–TCI)

To evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Swedish version of the Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (J–TCI), it was sent to parents of 9- and 12-yr.-old twins in Sweden. The final number of responders was 196 parents who rated 92 female and 104 male twin pairs. The inventory of one twin, randomly chosen from each pair, was included in the analyses. Reward Dependence, Persistence, and Cooperativeness were scored higher in girls; Novelty Seeking was higher in the 9-yr.-olds and Persistence in the 12-yr.-olds. Pearsons correlations showed that some dimensions were not statistically independent from each other, even if the covariance was moderate. Internal consistency (Cronbachs alpha) was satisfactory for Harm Avoidance, Novelty Seeking, Self-Directedness, and Cooperativeness (.68–.81), while it was lower in those dimensions that had fewer items. The Swedish parent version of the J–TCI shared about the same psychometric characteristics as found in international samples.

Personality and trait aggression profiles of male and female prison inmates

Gender specific personality profiles in association with the level of aggressive antisocial behavior in offenders have not been previously investigated. In the present study we analyzed data collected from 65 male and 50 female offenders using structured protocols regarding criminal history (by criminal register data), trait aggression (by the Life History of Aggression (LHA) questionnaire), and personality profiles (by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI)). Prison inmates differed significantly on several personality dimensions, most pronouncedly were they characterized with low character maturity (low scores in the Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness dimensions of TCI) when compared to gender and age matched controls of the general population. The majority of offenders scored distinctively high on trait aggression. There were moderate to strong associations between the personality dimensions and each of the subscales of LHA (Aggression, Self-directed Aggression and Antisocial behavior). These associations were stronger in the female offender sample. Trait aggression could be best explained by a model, which included male gender, younger age, high novelty seeking temperament and low character maturity. Our results suggest that therapies aiming at strengthening self-governance and increasing cooperativeness (focusing on character maturity) may alleviate aggressive antisocial behavior in offenders.

Reliability of Informant Ratings and Spouse Similarity Based on the Temperament and Character Inventory

A cohort of 136 Swedish spouse pairs rated themselves and each other with the Temperament and Character Inventory. The data allowed assessment of the reliability of ratings by knowledgeable informants compared to self-rating for this personality test. The reliability of the informant rating was in the expected range, with an average correlation of .58. Agreement was slightly higher for the Temperament dimensions than for the Character dimensions. Additionally, the design allowed evaluation of the similarity between husbands and wives across the seven dimensions measured by the TCI. Correlations between spouses in self-reports were very low for Temperament, with only Harm Avoidance having a statistically significant correlation (.22, p <.05). On the other hand, all three Character dimensions were significantly correlated. These results support the conceptualization of Temperament and Character as separate components of personality. The results are consistent with previous reports on the personality of spouse pairs.

The genetic and environmental structure of the character sub-scales of the temperament and character inventory in adolescence.

BackgroundThe character higher order scales (self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence) in the temperament and character inventory are important general measures of health and well-being [Mens Sana Monograph 11:16–24 (2013)]. Recent research has found suggestive evidence of common environmental influence on the development of these character traits during adolescence. The present article expands earlier research by focusing on the internal consistency and the etiology of traits measured by the lower order sub-scales of the character traits in adolescence.MethodsThe twin modeling analysis of 423 monozygotic pairs and 408 same sex dizygotic pairs estimated additive genetics (A), common environmental (C), and non-shared environmental (E) influences on twin resemblance. All twins were part of the on-going longitudinal Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS).ResultsThe twin modeling analysis suggested a common environmental contribution for two out of five self-directedness sub-scales (0.14 and 0.23), for three out of five cooperativeness sub-scales (0.07–0.17), and for all three self-transcendence sub-scales (0.10–0.12).ConclusionThe genetic structure at the level of the character lower order sub-scales in adolescents shows that the proportion of the shared environmental component varies in the trait of self-directedness and in the trait of cooperativeness, while it is relatively stable across the components of self-transcendence. The presence of this unique shared environmental effect in adolescence has implications for understanding the relative importance of interventions and treatment strategies aimed at promoting overall maturation of character, mental health, and well-being during this period of the life span.

The Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI): Psychometric Properties of Multi-Informant Ratings.

The aims of the study were (a) to establish norms for the Swedish child self-report and caregiver rating versions of the Junior and Temperament Character Inventory (JTCI) among young adolescents, (b) to investigate its psychometric properties, and (c) to investigate congruence between children’s self-reports and caregivers’ ratings of a child’s personality. The sample was a general population of 1,046 children ages 12–14 years and 654 caregivers. The JTCI was found to be reliable on all dimensions except Persistence in the child self-report version. Caregivers rated their own children’s personalities as more mature than did the children themselves. Caregivers especially overestimated their daughters’ self-reported capabilities for self-acceptance and self-efficacy and might have underestimated their daughters’ need for emotional support. This highlights the importance of including the child’s self-report on personality in both research and clinical assessments. The results also support the importance of age- and gender-separated norms.