Validation d'une version abrégée du TCI (TCI-56) sur un échantillon de jeunes fumeurs et non-fumeurs

FRANÇAIS :
La version courte de l'Inventaire du Caractère et du Tempérament de Cloninger et al (1993) comprend 56 items, soit 8 pour chaque échelle. L'échantillon de l'étude comporte 116 femmes et 95 hommes de 15 à 30 ans, divisé en 81 fumeurs et 130 non-fumeurs après le passage du test de Fagerstôrm qui évalue la dépendance au tabac. L'analyse porte sur les items du tempérament et ceux du caractère : recherche de nouveauté, persistance, évitement du danger, dépendance à la récompense, détermination, coopération, transcendance. Les fumeurs ont obtenu des scores plus élevés à la recherche de nouveauté que les non-fumeurs, les filles présentent des scores plus élevés à l'évitement du danger, à la dépendance à la récompense et à la coopération. Cette version abrégée du TCI-56 semble constituer un outil fiable et utile pour évaluer la personnalité, et un intérêt autant clinique que pour la recherche.
ENGLISH:
The psychobiological seven-factor model proposed by Cloninger et al. (1993) takes into account temperament and character dimensions to describe personality. Four of the dimensions are linked with biological, genetic and neuroanatomic structures, whereas the three other dimensions are related to the degree of individual, social and spiritual development. A study conducted by Wills et al. (1994) with adolescents showed that substance abuse was associated with high scores on Novelty Seeking and low scores on Harm Avoidance and Reward Dependence. The aim of the present study was, firstly, to create a short form of Cloningers temperament and character inventory (TCI) and, secondly, to study the impact of nicotine dependence as well as demographic variables on a sample of young adults. We created a short form of the TCI containing 56 items (TCI-56), eight for each scale. Responses are made on a five-point Likert type scale. A Swiss sample (n = 211), of 116 women and 95 men, aged from 15 to 30 years, participated in this study. Our population was divided into a group of 81 smokers and another of 130 non-smokers, according to their scores on the Fagerstörm test for nicotine dependence (1999). The correlations between factors and scales are the following: r = 0.71 for Novelty Seeking, r = 0.69 for Persistence, r = 0.95 for Harm Avoidance, r = 0.94 for Reward Dependence, r = 0.94 for Self-Directedness, r = 0.91 for Cooperativeness and r = 0.99 for Self-Transcendence. Concerning, the impact of the nicotine dependence, we observed that smokers have significantly higher scores for Novelty seeking, than non-smokers (P = 0.01). We found no difference for Harm Avoidance and Reward Dependence. Nevertheless, smokers seem to have the tendency to score higher on Transcendence (P = 0.06). We also found gender differences: the women (N = 116) obtain significantly higher scores for Harm Avoidance (P < 0.001), for Reward Dependence (P < 0.001) and for Cooperation (P = 0.01). We further found a significant correlation between age and Self-Directedness, r = 0.34. We observed no interaction between gender and smoking or age and smoking on the dimensions of the TCI-56. The TCI short form (TCI-56) seems to be a valid and useful inventory to assess personality differences. Confirming the results of others about the relation between addiction and personality, we found that smokers have significantly higher scores for Novelty seeking, than non-smokers. But we were not able to find any significant differences for Harm Avoidance and Reward Dependence. This might be due to our sample that was made of young adults. This study also shows that Transcendence could be an interesting dimension for studies on tobacco smoking to consider. Concerning the impact of demographic variables, we observed that age and gender have specific and coherent influence on personality. (Review' s abstract)