Middle Eastern Journal of Disability Studies

Background & Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) are among the world’s major mood disorders with around 6.7 percent of the world population suffering from the former and one percent from the latter. The purpose of this study was to compare personality traits in patients with type 1 bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder and their normal peers.
Methods: This research employed a causal-comparative design. The study population consisted of all patients with type 1 bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder- aged 19-60 years old- who received treatment in Iran Psychiatric Hospital located in Tehran during the first half of 2012. A total of 90 participants representing individuals with bipolar personality disorder, major depressive disorder and normal individuals were recruited through convenience sampling in equal numbers. The participants in the three groups were matched for age and sex. The research instruments was Milon Clinical Multidimensional Scale (MCMI II). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to test the research hypotheses.
Results: The result revealed significant differences between people with type 1 bipolar disorder and normal people in all personality traits except for the characteristics of schizoid and obsessive-compulsive features(p<0.05).  Significant differences were found between normal people and patients major depressive disorder in personality traits (p<0.05). In other words, people with major depression have periods of prolonged depression or sadness associated with social abandonment, pessimism about others and the future, susceptibility to exclusion.
Conclusion: Concurrent bipolar disorder and personality disorders can have negative impacts on individuals including the increased risk of suicide. Research evidence suggests that suicide risk is likely to be greater in people with bipolar disorder and personality disorder. The coexistence of the personality characteristics studied in this study also has an impact on the outcome of the treatment as it affects both the response to the treatment and the severity of the symptoms. The existence of such consequences shows that the clinical presentation of patients who are simultaneously afflicted with mood disorders and personality disorder are worse than those who only show symptoms of one of these disorders. Thus, identification of the personality traits associated with each of the disorders can help psychologists to provide therapeutic solutions.