An Investigation of Theses on Temperament and Character in Turkey: Period 1998-2024

Purpose: The aim of this study is to provide general information about the theses on temperament and character in Turkey in terms of thesis type, purpose, sample, results, years, supervisors, universities and keywords. This study is thought to be important in terms of summarizing the fields and results of studies on temperament and character from past to present and providing direction for new studies. Methods: In this study, content analysis was applied to the theses that were available on the National Thesis Page of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) and had access permission. The sample of the study was selected through purposive sampling. The terms temperament and character were searched in all fields in the YÖK thesis database. Although there are 214 theses related to temperament and character between 1998 and 2024 in the YÖK thesis database, 163 theses have access permission. Therefore, the data set consists of 163 theses. SPSS, MS Excel and MAXQDA 2022 programs were used to analyze the data. Results: While theses on temperament and character were concentrated in 2011, most of them were medical specialty theses. Ege University and Üsküdar University are among the universities with the highest number of theses on temperament and character. The relationships between temperament and character traits and psychiatric/neuropsychiatric disorders, individual behaviors, tendencies and life experiences related to temperament and character are among the most researched thesis areas. In the theses examined, clinical and non-clinical group comparisons, addiction, risky behaviors and health-related results were reached the most. Conclusions: Although there are many individual dissertation studies in literature, there are few meta-analysis or systematic review studies that synthesize the findings of these studies. Such studies will enable the interpretation of research results on temperament and character in a broader perspective. Most of the existing theses are concentrated in the field of medicine. Multidisciplinary studies should be encouraged. According to the results obtained, it is thought that it may be useful to use this inventory to create individualized treatment plans in addiction treatment centers.