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Objective: Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic immunological skin disorder characterized by round or oval patches of non-scarring hair loss. Current psychosomatic medicine focuses on the triggering of various diseases by stress and on psycho-immunological changes related to psychosocial stress. There has been little research on the personality traits in alopecia areata. The aim of this study is to examine temperament--character profiles and psychopathology of AA patients and to compare the findings with healthy controls. Method: Seventy-three patients who applied to outpatient clinics of dermatology for AA were included. The control group (n=78) was recruited from a nonclinical population. General psychopathology was assessed with the revised version of the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90-R). Personality was assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Results: The Global Severity Index (GSI) and depression subscale of the SCL-90-R scores were higher in the AA than in the control group (p<0.05). Total scores of novelty seeking (NS), reward dependence (RD), and self-transcendence (ST) of the patient groups were significantly lower than those of the control groups (p<0.05). When depression and anxiety were considered as covariates, the significant difference which was detected by the t-test still existed between the two groups in terms of NS, RD and ST. Conclusion: It is well known that psychiatric symptoms are common in AA. This study suggests that AA patients have distinctive temperaments such as novelty seeking, reward dependence and self-transcendence dimension compared with healthy controls. AA patients with low NS, RD and ST scores may be prone to depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]