Research report Towards a genetically validated new affective temperament scale: A delineation of the temperament ʻphenotype' of 5-HTTLPR using the TEMPS-A ☆ X. Gonda a,b, ⁎ , K.N. Fountoulakis c , Z. Rihmer b , J. Lazary a , A. Laszik d , K.K. Akiskal e , H.S. Akiskal e , G. Bagdy a,f a Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, 1089 Budapest Nagyvarad ter 4, Hungary b Department of Clinical and Theoretical Mental Health, Kutvolgyi Clinical Centre, Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, 1125 Budapest, Kutvolgyi ut 4, Hungary c 3rd Department of Psychiatry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University Hospital AHEPA, 54636, Thessaloniki, Greece d Institute of Forensic Medicine, Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, 1091 Budapest, Ulloi ut 93, Hungary e Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0603, USA f Group of Neuropsychopharmacology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary Received 4 March 2008; received in revised form 19 March 2008; accepted 19 March 2008 Available online 1 May 2008 Abstract Background: Although it has been described that affective temperaments are associated with the 5-HTTLPR, less attention was paid to the association between this polymorphism and subscales and items related to each affective temperament. The aim of our study was to investigate the association of affective temperament subscales and individual items with the s allele of the 5-HTTLPR. Method: 138 psychiatrically healthy women completed the TEMPS-A questionnaire and were genotyped for 5-HTTLPR. Scores of subjects on the temperament scales, subscales and items in the three genotype and the two phenotype groups were compared using ANOVA. We selected items with significantly different mean scores between the three genotype groups and the two phenotype groups separately and performed item analysis. Results: Subjects in the different 5-HTTLPR genotype and phenotype groups have significantly different score on scales measuring depressive, cyclothymic, irritable and anxious temperaments, and several subscales composing these temperamental scales. Subjects in the three genotype groups scored significantly different on 11 items, 8 of these remained in a derived genotype scale after item analysis. Subjects in the two phenotype groups had significantly different scores on 12 items, 9 of them were retained in a derived phenotype scale after item analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders 112 (2009) 19 – 29 www.elsevier.com/locate/jad ☆ These studies were supported by the Sixth Framework Programme of the EU, LSHM-CT-2004-503474, the Ministry of Welfare Research Grant 460/2006, the Hungarian Research Fund Grants 022256/1997 and 032398/2000 and the PhD Fellowship Program of the Semmelweis University, Ministry of Culture and Education, Hungary. ⁎ Corresponding author. Department of Clinical and Theoretical Mental Health, Kutvolgyi Clinical Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, 1125 Kutvolgyi ut 4., Hungary. Tel./fax: +36 1 355 8498. E-mail address: kendermagos@yahoo.com (X. Gonda). 0165-0327/$ - see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2008.03.012