Comprehensive Psychiatry
Volume 50, Issue 6 , Pages 562-566, November 2009

Novelty seeking among adult women is lower for the winter borns compared to the summer borns: replication in a large Finnish birth cohort

  • Jayanti Chotai

      Affiliations

    • Division of Psychiatry, Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Umeå, 901 85 Umeå, Sweden
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Division of Psychiatry, University Hospital, 901 85 Umeå, Sweden. Tel.: +46 90 785 0000; fax: +46 90 135324.
  • ,
  • Matti Joukamaa

      Affiliations

    • Tampere School of Public Health, University of Tampere and Department of Psychiatry, Tampere University Hospital, 33014 Tampere, Finland
  • ,
  • Anja Taanila

      Affiliations

    • Department of Public Health Science and General Practice, University of Oulu, 90014 Oulu, Finland
  • ,
  • Dirk Lichtermann

      Affiliations

    • Methadone Maintenance Clinic “Café Ersatz,” Dietkirchenstr 30, 53111 Bonn, Germany
  • ,
  • Jouko Miettunen

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry, Oulu University and Oulu University Hospital, 90014 Oulu, Finland

published online 19 January 2009.

Abstract 

Objective

Earlier general population studies have shown that novelty seeking (NS) of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) of personality is lower for persons born in winter compared to those born in summer, particularly for women. Here, we investigate if this result can be replicated in another population.

Method

The Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort, comprising 4968 subjects (2725 women, 2243 men), was investigated with regard to the temperament dimensions of the TCI and the season of birth.

Results

Novelty seeking and reward dependence (RD) showed significant variations according to the month of birth. We found that women born during winter have significantly lower levels of NS compared to women born during summer, with a minimum for the birth month November and maximum for May. These results are similar to those found in a previous Swedish study. Furthermore, our study showed that men born during spring had significantly lower mean scores of RD compared to men born during autumn, with a minimum for birth month March. This was in contrast to the Swedish study, where the minimum of RD was obtained for the birth month December.

Conclusion

Women born in winter have lower NS as adults compared to women born in summer. Because NS is modulated by dopamine, this study gives further support to the studies in the literature that show that dopamine turnover for those born in winter is higher than for those born in summer.

To access this article, please choose from the options below

Login to an existing account or Register a new account.

  • Purchase this article for 31.50 USD (You must login/register to purchase this article)

    Online access for 24 hours. The PDF version can be downloaded as your permanent record.

  • Subscribe to this title

    Get unlimited online access to this article and all other articles in this title 24/7 for one year.

  • Claim access now

    For current subscribers with Society Membership or Account Number.

  • Visit SciVerse ScienceDirect to see if you have access via your institution.
 

PII: S0010-440X(08)00178-8

doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2008.11.010

Comprehensive Psychiatry
Volume 50, Issue 6 , Pages 562-566, November 2009