Alcohol dependence is a complex psychiatric disorder.

To investigate the role of temperament on the course of alcohol dependence.

To further investigate the role of temperaments in alcohol dependent patients and to analyse the differences in relevant clinical features in correlation with the different temperament distributions.

The patients‘case files of 116 alcohol dependent patients, according to ICD-10 and DSM-IV-TR, admitted to the Vienna General Hospital between 02/08 and 03/09, were examined retrospectively. The brief-TEMPS-M auto-questionnaire was used to assess the temperamental distribution. The dimensions of alcohol dependence have been assessed using the Lesch Alcoholism Typology, a computerized structured interview. The potential effect of temperamental scores on various outcomes describing the course of illness is investigated using multi-variable regression models.

Cyclothymic score was the only temperament which significantly influenced the age of onset of alcohol abuse and age of onset of alcohol dependence. Backward selection among temperaments exhibits depressive temperament as most important effect regarding the likelihood of suicide-attempts in the patient‘s case history and anxious temperament as most important effect regarding having psychiatric treatment focusing on alcohol dependence prior to current in- or outpatient stay.

Dominant cyclothymic, but also depressive and anxious temperament, seem to be negative predictors for the course of illness in alcohol dependence.