Reliability and validity of TEMPS-A in a Japanese non-clinical population: application to unipolar and bipolar depressives

Matsumoto, Satoko; Akiyama, Tsuyoshi; Tsuda, Hitoshi; Miyake, Yuko; Kawamura, Yoshiya; Noda, Toshie; Akiskal, Kareen K.; Akiskal, Hagop S.

doi:10.1016/j.jad.2003.10.001

« Previous Next »Journal of Affective Disorders
Volume 85, Issue 1 , Pages 85-92, March 2005

Reliability and validity of TEMPS-A in a Japanese non-clinical population: application to unipolar and bipolar depressives

Satoko Matsumoto
- Department of Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Tsuyoshi Akiyama
- Corresponding author. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kanto Medical Center NTT EC,Tokyo,Japan.
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kanto Medical Center NTT EC, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Hitoshi Tsuda
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Yuko Miyake
- National Institute of Mental Health, National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry, Chiba, Japan
Yoshiya Kawamura
- Department of Psychiatry, Yokosuka Kyosai Hospital, Japan
Toshie Noda
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kanto Medical Center NTT EC, Tokyo, Japan
Kareen K. Akiskal
- International Mood Center, University of California at San Diego, USA
Hagop S. Akiskal
- International Mood Center, University of California at San Diego, USA

Received 10 April 2003; accepted 2 October 2003.

Abstract

Background: In Japan, TEMPS-A has gathered much attention, because Kraepelin's concepts on “fundamental states” of mood disorder and temperaments have been widely respected. Method: TEMPS-A was translated into Japanese (and after the approval of the English back translation by H.S.A.), it was administered to 1391 non-clinical subjects, and 29 unipolar and 30 bipolar patients in remission. Of the non-clinical sample, 426 were readministered the instrument again in 1 month. A control group matched for gender and age was drawn from the non-clinical sample. Results: Regarding test–retest reliability, Spearman's coefficients for depressive, cyclothymic, hyperthymic, irritable and anxious temperaments were 0.79, 0.84, 0.87, 0.81 and 0.87, respectively; regarding internal consistency, Cronbach's α coefficients were 0.69, 0.84, 0.79, 0.83 and 0.87, respectively. The unipolar and bipolar groups showed significantly higher depressive, cyclothymic and anxious temperament scores than the control group. Curiously, the bipolar group showed significantly lower hyperthymic score than the control group; irritable temperament scores showed no significant differences. Depressive, cyclothymic, irritable and anxious temperament scores showed significant correlations with each other. Between the unipolar and bipolar groups, there was little difference regarding the temperament scores. Also the inter-temperament correlations showed the same pattern in the unipolar and bipolar groups. Limitation: The clinically well cohort was 70% male. Conclusion: TEMPS-A showed a high reliability and validity (internal consistency) in a Japanese non-clinical sample. By and large, the hypothesized five temperament structure was upheld. Depressive, cyclothymic and anxious temperaments showed concurrent validity with mood disorder. Irritable temperament may represent a subtype of depressive, cyclothymic or anxious temperaments. There may be a temperamental commonality between unipolar and bipolar disorders. TEMPS-A will open new possibilities for international research on mood disorder and personality traits.

Keywords: TEMPS-A, Temperament, Mood disorder, Kraepelin, Japan