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Personality traits in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with and without fatigue experience
Author(s) -
Merkelbach S.,
König J.,
Sittinger H.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1034/j.1600-0404.2003.02037.x
Subject(s) - neuroticism , extraversion and introversion , personality , multiple sclerosis , psychology , big five personality traits , clinical psychology , personality assessment inventory , medicine , psychiatry , social psychology
Objectives – To determine the impact of personality characteristics on feelings of fatigue in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and to compare the results with the impact of bodily impairment. Patients and methods – Eighty patients with definite MS (mean age 38.5 ± 9.0 years, 62 females) were surveyed using questionnaires assessing fatigue experience and personality traits (German Freiburg Personality Inventory‐Revised; FPI‐R) and by clinical examination assessing the Expanded Disability Status Scale. Results – Increased levels of “neuroticism”, and “excitability” and decreased levels of “extraversion” were found to relate independent of fatigue scores (0.21 < β < 0.52; 0.05 < P < 0.0001). The impact of these personality traits on fatigue (partial R 2 ranging up to 0.32; 0.02 < P < 0.0001) was much higher than the impact of physical impairment (partial R 2 ranging up to 0.04; not significant). Conclusion – Our results support a psychological model of fatigue in MS. FPI‐R‐items over‐weighted somatic sources of the fatigue syndrome in MS and may specifically relate to fatigue experience in chronical disorders.