The Stability of Personality Traits Despite Naturalistic Treatment for Panic Disorder

Objectives: Several studies indicated that patients with Panic Disorder (PD) have higher neuroticism and lower extraversion than normal controls. If anxiety and mood disorders may or may not produce a state effect on personality trait measures is still unclear. The objective of this study was to verify if personality trait scores in patients with PD differ according to the stage of their treatment. Methods: Our sample consisted of 87 patients with PD. These patients were divided into three groups: first month of treatment; between 6 and 12 months of treatment; more than 12 months of treatment. The personality dimensions evaluated were neuroticism and extraversion. Results: Regarding extraversion and neuroticism, there were no significant differences among the patients in the three groups, despite significant differences in the CGI, HAM-A and HAM-D scores. The neuroticism scores were correlated with all severity scales, agoraphobia and major depression, while the extraversion scores were correlated only with HAM-A, HAM-D, agoraphobia and major depression. Conclusion: The main limitations of this study were the cross-sectional format, small samples and the assessment of only two personality dimensions. The current findings are consistent with the literature, which indicates that dimensional constructs of personality show high stability.