Childhood Trauma and Psychopathology among Alcohol-Dependent Men: No Interaction with Temperament and Character

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate possible interactions between childhood trauma, temperament, character, and psychopathology among alcohol-dependent men. Methods: Participants were 156 alcohol-dependent men consecutively admitted to a dependency treatment unit. The Childhood Abuse and Neglect Questionnaire, the Temperament and Character Inventory, and the Symptom Checklist-Revised were administered to all participants. Results: Childhood abuse and neglect did not have any effect on temperament and character scores in multivariate analysis. Whereas childhood abuse had a significant main effect on all types of clinical psychopathology except depression and psychoticism scores, childhood neglect only had a significant main effect on depression scores. There was no interaction between childhood abuse and neglect on these analyses. Conclusions: Among alcohol-dependent men, childhood abuse and neglect contribute to general psychopathology through distinct clinical consequences, independently of temperamental and characterological features. Copyright (C) 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel