Personality of Argentinean outpatients in psychotherapy

Abstract

Personality differences between patients and non-patients were examined in order to make a contribution to the study of the dissemination of psychotherapies with empirical support in a country with a different cultural tradition. The NEO-PI-R test, which evaluates Costa & McCrae´s Five Factor Model of Personality, was completed by both a community sample (N = 369), recruited through the “snowball” procedure and a clinical sample (N = 282), constituted by 14 successive outpatients of 20 different clinical psychologists, in the cities of Paraná and Santa Fe (Argentina). The personality profiles differed significantly. Patients scored higher in Neuroticism (proneness to experience negative emotions) (partial η² = 13%), due to differences in all facets, except Impulsivity; lower in Extraversion (proneness to experience positive emotions) (η² partial 6%), due to lower Activity, Excitement Seeking and Positive Emotions; and lower, as well, in Conscientiousness (η² partial 6%) due to lower Competence, Achievement Striving, Order and Self-discipline. Openness to Experience and Agreeableness showed similar results. Differences between patients and nonpatients were smaller than those found in meta-analyses performed in the United States. Hypotheses are posited trying to explain such differences.