Myers Briggs Type Indicator Personality Profiles in Unipolar Depressed Patients

Abstract

Summary: Objective: The current study was designed to compare the distribution of Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality types in patients with Unipolar Depression compared to normative data.

Method: The MBTI divides individuals into four dichotomous types: Extroverted and Introverted, Sensing and Intuitive, Thinking and Feeling, and fudging and Perceiving. This yields eight single-factor and sixteen four-factor types. One-hundred-thirty Unipolar Depressed patients were administered the MBTI-Form F.

Results: Unipolar Depressed patients were significantly more often Introverted, Sensing, Feeling, and Perceiving single-factor types respectively, and Introverted-Sensing-Feeling-Perceiving, and Introverted-Intuitive-Feeling-Perceiving four-factor types. The male Introverted-Sensing-Feeling-Perceiving four-factor type was the most dramatically over-represented.

Conclusion: The MBTI effectively discriminates a patient group with Unipolar Depression from a normative population.

Key Words:

• depression
• personality
• introversion
• genetic
• gender.