PERSONALITY-CHARACTERISTICS AND PLATELET MAO ACTIVITY IN WOMEN WITH CONGENITAL ADRENAL-HYPERPLASIA (CAH)

Personality traits and platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity were studied in 22 women, 17-34 years old, with prenatal virilization due t o congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) (21-hydroxylase deficiency) and 22 healthy controls. The CAH group differed significantly on two of t he eight scales of the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP), which h ave earlier shown significant gender differences. Both differences wer e in the masculine direction, with a high, male level, score for Detac hment and a lower score for Indirect Aggression. The Detachment scale reflects distance in social relations, and has earlier been shown to b e strongly gender differentiating. There was no significant difference in platelet MAO activity between the CAH group and the controls. Alth ough an influence of psychosocial factors cannot be excluded, the resu lts suggest a possible association between prenatal androgen exposure and the high Detachment score for the CAH group. Gender differences in empathy, affiliation motivation, intimacy and maternal behavior may b e relevant parallels.