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COMORBID DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE IDEATION IN PATIENTS WITH COMBAT-RELATED PTSD: THE ROLE OF TEMPERAMENT, CHARACTER, AND TRAIT IMPULSIVITY

Nenad Jakšić orcid.org/0000-0002-5286-720X ; National Center for Psychotrauma, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Branka Aukst Margetić ; National Center for Psychotrauma, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Darko Marčinko ; School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia; Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Sažetak

Background: War veterans with PTSD have a high chance of developing major depressive disorder (MDD) at some point, while
they can also exhibit increased suicidal tendencies. The primary goal of this research was to investigate whether personality
dimensions, including temperament, character, and trait impulsivity, were associated with comorbid MDD, as well as with suicidal
ideation in psychiatric patients suffering from combat-related PTSD.
Subjects and methods: The sample consisted of 148 Croatian male war veterans (mean age 49.53 years) treated for PTSD at the
National Center for Psychotrauma, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Center Zagreb. Fifty-one (34%) of them met ICD-
10 diagnostic criteria for current or lifetime MDD, while 97 (66%) were diagnosed with PTSD alone. All the participants were
assessed with the M.I.N.I. diagnostic interview and they completed the following battery of self-report instruments: the Beck
Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II), the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), the Temperament and
Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R), and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11).
Results: Comparisons between the two clinical groups showed that PTSD+MDD patients were more suicidal and differed with
regard to temperament dimensions Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence and Persistence, character dimension Self-Directedness,
and trait impulsivity. In three multivariate regression analyses, it was revealed that character dimension Cooperativeness as well as
trait impulsivity were unique predictors of suicidal ideation, while controlling for the influence of sociodemographics, length of
treatment and comorbid depression.
Conclusions: Combat-related PTSD patients with comorbid depression exhibit increased suicide thoughts and different
personality profiles in comparison with those suffering from PTSD alone. Character dimension Cooperativeness and trait impulsivity
seem to be uniquely predictive of suicide ideation in this population. Elucidation of individual psychological factors that increase the
risk of MDD and suicidal tendencies in war veterans with PTSD may facilitate more effective prevention and treatment methods.

Ključne riječi

PTSD; comorbid depression; temperament; personality; impulsivity; suicide; war veterans

Hrčak ID:

178604

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/178604

Datum izdavanja:

20.3.2017.

Posjeta: 1.903 *