Temperament and character in Italian men with anorexia nervosa: A controlled study with the temperament and character inventory

This study compares personality traits of men and women with anorexia nervo sa and matched controls. The Temperament and Character Inventory was used t o assess personality traits of 15 male and 50 female anorectics and 28 male and 58 female controls matched for age and education. Male anorectic patie nts displayed overall lower reward dependence and cooperativeness. Male and female anorectics displayed higher persistence and lower self-directedness than controls. Anorectic men had lower harm avoidance than anorectic women . Discriminating analysis revealed the anorectic male group as the most cle arly defined. Anorectic men shared more traits with anorectic women than wi th male controls. Temperament and character of anorectic men reflect featur es partly similar to those of women with anorexia. Personal history and dis criminating analysis led to interesting inferences about the gender identit y of anorectic men. These results should be helpful in directing pharmacolo gic and psychotherapeutic approaches that consider the specific personality traits of these patients.