Literature Review
Diabetes is a potentially life-threatening disorder that requires a high degree of self-
management by the patient. To reduce the incidence of diabetic complications, such as eye
disease, kidney failure and neuropathy, people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are advised
to maintain a near-normal blood glucose level (The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial
Research Group, 1993; UK Prospective Diabetes Study Group, 1998). Because of this personal
responsibility, the psychological burden of coping with diabetes is high (Maes, Leventhal, & De
Ridder, 1996). Personality is defined as a sense of continuity, consistency, and sustainability
about what one thinks or experiences (Wrosch and Scheier 2003).
The effects of personality can generally be classified into three areas: (1) individual
outcomes, including mental well-being, spirituality and virtue, physical health, psychopathology,
and self-concept and identity; (2) interpersonal outcomes, including relationships with peers and
the family, and romantic relationships; and (3) social outcomes, including career choice and
performance, political values and attitudes, social participation, and crime (Ozer and Benet-
Martinez 2006). Thus, an individual’s personality affects diverse aspects of one’s life. Therefore,
it can be claimed that investigating dispositional factors is of great importance for identifying the
profile of traits associated with more positively adaptive consequences (Hagger 2009). As Park et
al. (2006) stated, good character has been defined as a necessity for individuals and communities
to develop.
Personality seems to color the way one perceives life events (DeNeve and Cooper 1998);
therefore, the manner in which people perceive and interpret their thoughts and feelings in life is
shaped by personality traits (McCrae and Costa Jr. 2008). In this regard, personality can affect
mental well-being (DeNeve and Cooper 1998) and quality of life (Wrosch and Scheier 2003). On
the other hand, personality seems to provide an important explanation for good/bad qual ity of
life and social psychological compatibility (Areias et al. 2014). Therefore, an individual’s
positive and negative traits, associated with positive outcomes and called character strengths in
positive psychology, can, respectively, have considerable positive and negative consequences.
Our perspective on personality and quality of life suggests that personality factors can
impact on the way in which people approach life circumstances or on the kinds of outcomes
people receive, which in turn can impact favorably or unfavorably on quality of life. For
example, a person who is conscientious may overcome unexpected obstacles more easily than a
person who is less motivated to achieve important life tasks. Thus, a conscientious person may
be more successful in establishing objective indicators of quality of life (e.g., having a successful
career, wealth) and may also report high levels of subjective well-being.
With regard to predicting different levels of quality-of-life indicators (e.g., general life
satisfaction vs. domain-specific satisfaction), it might be that personality is particularly related to
broader indicators of quality of life, such as general life satisfaction. Given that personality
affects an individual’s characteristic pattern of behaviors across a large number of life domains,
we might be more successful in identifying the beneficial effects of personality if we look at
aggregated indicators of quality of life. This does not imply, however, that personality is not also
influencing specific facets of life quality. Our only point here has to do with the conditions under
which associations are most likely to occur. Other things being equal, we would expect a
particularly close relation between the predictor (i.e., personality) and the outcome (i.e., quality
of life) if both are measured at the same level of aggregation. Since personality fac tors tend to
be applicable to many situations, prediction might be best for quality-of-life indica tors that are
also broad in scope (Wrosch & Scheier, 2003). Psychologists have paid special attention to
quality of life and the factors that determine it. They tried to discover the positive characteristics
of the personality, the positive habits of human nature that create energies that activate a state of
wellbeing, that propel the perception of a better life.
Thus, the quality of life represents the interaction between living conditions and personal
values, the individual's perception of his status in life in terms of the social-culture-community
context, but also personal satisfaction in relation to life. In order to measure the quality of life,
several indices have been developed that measure different aspects of individual and societal life
(Zanc & Lupu, 1994,1999, 2004): “ Emotional or mental well-being, illustrated by indicators
such as: happiness, contentment self-esteem, a sense of personal identity, the avoidance of
excessive stress, self-esteem, the richness of the spiritual life, the feeling of security”.
Interpersonal relationships, illustrated by indicators such as: enjoying intimacy, affection,
friends, social contacts, social support (dimensions of social support)"; Material well-being,
illustrated by indicators such as: property, job security, adequate income, adequate food,
employment, possession of goods (movable - immovable), housing, social status;" Personal
affirmation, which means: professional competence, professional promotion, captivating
intellectual activities, solid professional skills/abilities, professional fulfillment, levels of
education appropriate to the profession"; "
Physical well-being, materialized in health, physical mobility, adequate nutrition,
availability of free time, ensuring good quality healthcare, health insurance, interesting favorite
activities in free time (hobbies and their satisfaction), optimal fitness or fitness, embodied in the
four S, "Strength" - physical strength, "Stamina" - physical strength or endurance, "Suppleness" -
physical suppleness and "Skills" - physical skill or ability;" . Independence, which means
autonomy in life, the possibility to make personal choices, the ability to make decisions, personal
self-control, the presence of clearly defined values and goals, self-leadership in life;".
Social integration, which refers to the presence of a social status and role, acceptance in
different social groups, accessibility of social support, stimulating work climate, participation in
community activities, activity in non-governmental organizations, belonging to a spiritual-
religious community;” Ensuring fundamental human rights, such as: the right to vote, the right to
property, privacy, access to education and culture, the right to a speedy and fair trial." (Zanc &
Lupu, 2004).
Five-factor theory (McCrae & Costa, 1999, 2003) is the conceptual framework
underlying the FFM. According to this theoretical account, FFM traits are ‘‘basic tendencies’’
that give rise to ‘‘characteristic adaptations.’’ Such a distinction is consistent with other recent
theoretical accounts of the general personality system (Hooker & McAdams, 2003; McAdams &
Pals, 2006), which differentiate between fundamental dispositions and the dynamic and fluid
processes arising from these dispositions. Maintaining everyday quality of life in the face of
mental or emotional health is a major adaptive challenge, and characteristic adaptations
associated with all FFM traits might enhance or detract from HRQOL among older adults. We
now briefly consider the potential implications of each FFM domain for HRQOL.
Most research on personality and HRQOL in older adults has focused on Neuroticism,
linking it to lower social and role functioning and impairment in instrumental activities of daily
living (IADLs; Kempen, Jelicic, & Ormel, 1997; Kressin, Spiro, & Skinner, 2000; Russo et al.,
1997). Characteristic adaptations of Neuroticism include ineffective coping strategies such as
self-blame and hostility (McCrae & Costa, 1986), and immature psychological defenses such as
regression and displacement (Costa, Zonderman, & McCrae, 1991). Such characteristic
‘‘maladaptations’’ may lead to the alienation of social partners and negative and self-defeating
emotions such as discouragement, shame, or anger, which undercut the successful maintenance
of everyday routines and activities.
Conscientious individuals are organized, diligent, and reliable, and they employ more
mature defenses (Costa et al., 1991) such as adaptive action patterns in response to stressors.
Conscientiousness may therefore promote the maintenance of one’s everyday roles, routines,
hobbies, and functioning in the face of physical or mental health problems. Conscientiousness is
also linked to health-protective behaviors, including exercise, abstention from tobacco and lower
levels of alcohol misuse and risky driving (Bogg & Roberts, 2004), and consumption of a lower
fat diet (Goldberg & Strycker, 2002). One might therefore expect Conscientiousness to be
associated with better quality of life in areas involving the regular performance of IADLs, and in
the maintenance of physical function.
Agreeableness is a trait marked by amiability, friendliness, and compassion.
Investigations of correspondence between the FFM and the ‘‘love’’ and ‘‘dominance’’ axes of the
inter personal circumplex (Leary, 1957) show that Agreeableness is characterized by both high
standing on ‘‘love’’ and low standing on ‘‘dominance,’’ making it a trait with important
ramifications for social relationships (McCrae & Costa, 1989). However, its potential
connections to HRQOL dimensions are somewhat less clear. We therefore wished to assess its
importance in HRQOL among diabetic patients.
Extraversion may affect aspects of HRQOL related to both social–emotional and physical quality
of life. Extraversion encapsulates sociability, energy, and the frequent experiences of positive
emotion (Costa & McCrae, 1992), and research on its characteristic adaptations suggests that it is
associated with positive thinking, denial of problems, and facing problems with low levels of
self-doubt (Costa et al., 1991; McCrae & Costa, 1986). Extraverted individuals also maintain
broader social networks in older adulthood (Lang, Staudinger, & Carstensen, 1998), and they
might enjoy better quality of life in aspects related to social functioning.
Higher degree of Openness was associated with better physical functioning, even when
objective levels of medical burden were controlled (Duberstein et al., 2003). We speculated that
individuals who are more open may retain better physical functioning because they remain
interested in learning new physical activities and tasks even into late life, are more receptive to
and benefit more from health prevention and maintenance information available to the general
public, or both. From a five-factor theory perspective, Open individuals might have better
physical functioning in everyday life because they have a need for variety and are more
adventurous (Costa & McCrae, 1988) and tend to think more creatively and flexibly (McCrae,
1987), possibly resulting in better problem-solving skills and greater willingness to develop
alternative compensatory strategies for physical limitation.
Personality and Illness Perception
Illness perception refers to individuals’ mental representations of their disease based on
the concrete and abstract sources of information available to them for use in understanding and
managing their illness (Broadbent et al., 2006; Hagger & Orbell, 2003; Leventhal et al., 1992;
Petrie & Weinman, 2006). A series of studies have indicated that neuroticism is a crucial personal
trait in predicting negative illness perceptions in patients, as it is associated with a more negative
perception of health status and a low sense of control over their disease (Franz et al., 2014;
Goetzmann et al., 2005; Rassart et al., 2014). Compared with patients with non-neurotic
personalities, patients with high-level neuroticism have been found to be more emotionally labile
and to have more negative illness perceptions (Mohamed et al., 2016), to report more frequent
and severe symptoms (Costa & McCrae, 1987; Larsen, 1992; Michel, 2006; Rassart et al., 2014),
to exaggerate the true somatic symptoms of their underlying illness (Gingnell et al., 2010), and to
report more health complaints (Finogenow, 2013; Korotkov, 2008; Kovyazina et al., 2017).
People with Type D personality tend to have negative illness perception. They feel that
their illness will last for a long time and cause serious consequences, and that they cannot control
the illness. In addition, they experience pain in the disease more intensely than those with non-
Type D personality and experience also emotional problems such as depression and anxiety
caused by the pain (Williams et al., 2011a). Mols and Denollet (2012) reported that people with
Type D personality negatively perceived their ill ness and experienced more physical symptoms
and emotional reactions due to illness in a survey of 3977 cancer patients. Illness perception is a
concept derived from the self-regulation theory.
Self-regulation theory defines humans as active problem solvers and explains how
individuals behave through recognition, coping, and appraisal steps to reduce the perceived gap
between the current and ideal health status (Leventhal and Carmeron, 1987). Illness perception is
a self-reported belief in health, and health behaviors can vary according to illness perception;
hence, changes in this illness perception can be the target of interventions (Broadbent et al.,
2009; Petrie et al., 2002; Williams et al., 2011a). In previous studies (Park, 2014; Seong and Lee,
2011), the more positive the illness perception was, the higher the self-care ability was. Positive
ill ness perception was correlated health behaviors such as cardiac rehabilitation participation,
diet, exercise, and smoking (Broadbent et al., 2009; French et al., 2006).
A study analyzed the mediating effects of illness perception on the relationship between
Type D personality and health behaviors in CAD patients after undergoing PCI. Of the total 142
CAD patients, 28.9 percent had Type D personality. The presence of Type D personality in CAD
patients was observed to predict health behaviors and ill ness perception significantly. However,
Type D personality was observed to only indirectly affect health behaviors. In other words,
illness perception can completely mediate the relationship between the two variables. Therefore,
the development and application of interventions to improve illness perception of patients with
CAD may improve their health behaviors and, ultimately, prevent recurrence and improve
quality of life.
In line with the personality traits of patients, what is important for achieving better and
more self-care is the understanding of their condition or perception of illness (Babakhouya,
2019; Fadaei et al., 2020). Illness perception refers to the patient's organized cognitive
representation of their illness (Najafi Ghezeljeh et al., 2019). A patient's understanding of their
illness and condition can affect their physical, psychological health, and ability to cope with the
disease (Parsamehr et al., 2015). Illness perception in patients is formed based on gathering
information from various sources and patient beliefs, impacting their mental health and ability to
adapt to the illness (Broadbent et al., 2006; Eydi et al., 2020).
Illness Perception and Quality of Life
Patients' recognition of their illness under the term illness perception or cognitive
representation of illness by the patient is based on information absorption from different sources
and patient beliefs (Bagharian et al., 2018; Bagherian-Sararoudi et al., 2020). This factor can
affect physical, psychological health, and the individual's ability to cope with the disease. This
perception of illness plays a crucial role in guiding specific behaviors and responses related to
the disease, such as adherence to treatment (Monirpour et al., 2020). In physical diseases like
coronary artery disease, illness perception significantly clarifies disease outcomes and patients
with similar symptoms and severity conditions have different perceptions of their illness,
affecting self-care behaviors and related actions (Oliveira-Kumakura et al., 2019).
Self-care behavior in patients is considered one of the most essential basic strategies for
disease control (Kioskli et al., 2019). Self-care refers to the set of actions that an individual
undertakes to maintain physical and mental health, prevent diseases, and take appropriate
therapeutic measures for self-improvement (Tabiban et al., 2019; World -improvement (Tabiban
et al., 2019; World 87 Razaghpour et al. Health, 2022). Self-care behavior not only improves the
quality of life but also reduces hospitalization rates, thereby decreasing costs (Amegbor et al.,
2018). In fact, self-care behavior in cardiac patients involves the ability and the necessity to
regulate and control dietary plans, behaviors, and daily activities from the patient's perspective to
maintain proper cardiac and vascular function within natural limits (Eydi et al., 2020).
Self-care behavior, considered one of the most important basic strategies for disease
control in patients (Kioskli et al., 2019), includes following recommended dietary regimes,
engaging in regular physical activity, monitoring blood pressure, and regulated consumption of
medications (Diebold et al., 2018). Stress and inadequate self-care may be factors leading to poor
cardiovascular function and heart disease outcomes, increasing stress in patients and
subsequently leading to other physical, behavioral, and psychological disorders (Amegbor et al.,
2018).
A study examined the roles of illness perception and patient–physician trust in the
relationship between neuroticism and patients’ depressive symptoms. A cross-sectional survey
was administered to patients of two Chinese hospitals (N=384). The findings indicated that
higher neuroticism was directly associated with depressive symptoms and indirectly associated
with depressive symptoms via negative illness perception. Importantly, only the benevolence
dimension of patient–physician trust was shown to moderate the indirect relationship between
neuroticism and depressive symptoms: compared with patients in the low-level benevolence
group, patients with high neuroticism in the high-level benevolence group reported less negative
illness perceptions and, in turn, reduced depressive symptoms.
The technical competence dimension of patient–physician trust showed no such
moderating effect. For patients with high neuroticism, future interventions aimed at changing
illness perceptions should focus not only on demonstrating technical competence and improving
symptoms, but also on providing healthcare information and affectionate social support (Rassart
et al., 2014). Health professionals, striving to prevent complications of diabetes and thereby
protect quality of life (QoL) in the long term, often overlook the importance of protecting QoL in
the short term. Increased attention is being given to measures of patient perceptions of the effects
of the condition and its treatment in an effort to improve the overall management of diabetes.
Population aging is a global phenomenon resulting mainly from reduced childhood
mortality, falling fertility rates, and rising life expectancy (Beard et al., 2016). The proportion of
those aged 60 and above is predicted to double from 12% in 2015 to 22% in 2050 (WHO, 2019).
Life expectancy is expected to rise further, particularly in low- and middle- income countries
(LMICs; Lee et al., 2020). Population aging has significant implications, particularly for
healthcare, the labor market, pensions, housing, and social services. As life expectancy increases,
quality of life (QoL) will be an import ant indicator of older adults’ well-being (Bosch-Farre et
al., 2018; Lee et al., 2020).
Research on aging and QoL frequently focuses on pre venting disease and impairment of
physical and cognitive functions. Other factors such as psychological and social well-being are
often neglected and the relationship between the psychosocial factors and the aging process is
understudied. However, older adults experiencing a decline in health and physical functioning
may still be able to maintain a good QoL in terms of their social and psychological well-being
(Ailshire & Crimmins, 2011).
Therefore, psychosocial aspects of well-being such as self-perception of aging (SPA),
mental health, life satisfaction, and social resources are vital elements to consider when
measuring the QoL of older adults (Ailshire & Crimmins, 2011; McKee & Schuz, 2015). SPA is
the belief and expectations held by an older individual about their own aging (Levy et al., 2002a,
2002b). SPA is also known as subjective aging, attitude towards own aging (ATOA) and aging
expectations in the literature (Diehl et al., 2014). Other constructs also evaluate perception of
aging such as acceptance of aging, which is suggested to be an important part of older adults
coping mechanism with age-related changes (Ranzijn & Luszcz, 1999).
Patient reported outcomes become increasingly important in health care, as they prove to
be helpful for further evaluating and treating medical and psychosocial problems (Anderson
et al., 2020). The multidimensional concept of HRQoL expands the view on health beyond
somatic indicators, as it includes the patients’ subjective perspective on physical, psychological,
social, and functional aspects of health (Ravens-Sieberer et al., 2006). However, most of the time
it is the parent who provides information about the child. Various studies found that in pediatric
samples parents tend to underrate their children’s HRQoL compared to their children’s opinion,
while in healthy samples, parents usually overrate their children’s well-being (Panepinto et al.,
2010; Rajmil et al., 2013; Russell et al., 2006; Sattoe et al., 2012; Silva et al., 2015; Upton et al.,
2008). Parent-child agreement on HRQoL may be influenced by the child’s age, health status and
the presence of any behavioral problems (Janse et al., 2005).
Some demographic factors, such as the families’ socioeconomic status (Youngblade &
Shenkman, 2003), the parents’ gender (Doostfatemeh et al., 2015) or their own lower well-being,
can also predict lower parent-child agreement on HRQoL (Panepinto et al., 2010). In their
review, Eiser and Varni (2013) suggest that parents and children judge the pediatric HRQoL
based on different information, while com prehensive evaluation needs both perspectives.
Examining how both sides perceive the illness might bring us closer to understanding the proxy
problem.
Perception of the illness is related to the decision to seek health care, to comply with
medical advice and is also a predictor of success in coping with chronic illness, according to
Leventhal’s Self-Regulatory Model (Broadbent et al., 2011; Leventhal et al., 1992). Illness
perception of the parent and the child might vary. According to Szentes et al. (2017), parents had
more pessimistic attitudes towards the illness than their children: parents perceived more
consequences and felt the illness more chronic. It seems like in pediatric samples, parents not
only rate their children’s HRQoL lower, but their illness perception may be more negative as
well.
Recent studies suggest that perceived caregiving burden and perceived quality of family
relationships explain the proxy problem better than clinical and socio-demographic variables
(Quitmann et al., 2016; Silva et al., 2015). Thinking in a socio-ecological framework (Kazak,
1989; Kazak et al., 2012), the burden of a pediatric chronic illness weighs on the whole family
and on their close environment as well. How much a child’s illness is a burden on the family
depends on various factors: the illnesses’ characteristics, the families’ circumstances and also
how they think the illness is affecting their life. Moss-Morris and colleagues (2002) created the
factor perceived consequences of the illness to measure how the person thinks about the illness’s
effect on their present and future life, social life and financial prosperity. Based on previous
study it is suggested that different perceptions of the consequences of the illness might influence
how parents or children rate the children’s well-being. The parent’s perception of the illness
might reflect their own beliefs, fears, worries and life experiences, and can result in seeing their
child’s HRQoL worse than the child who has different knowledge, experience and perception on
their illness.
Personality , Illness Perception and Quality of Life
The most vital part in the formation of a person is their personality traits. These traits are
the main reason of shaping a person's view of illness and their QoL outcomes (Costa & McCrae,
1992). From the Five Factor Model (FFM), personality traits like neuroticism, extraversion,
openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness are said to be the factors that
determine how people understand and react to health-related information (Costa & McCrae,
1992). Illness perception, which is a term that appears in Leventhal's Common Sense Model
(CSM), means the way in which individuals, cognitively and emotionally, see their illness, like
what they think it is caused by, what are the results, what the timeframe is, whether it can be
controlled, and who they are (Leventhal et al. , 1984). Studies show that personality traits can
affect illness perception, because the higher the level of neuroticism, the more negative
perception of the illness, the more anxiety and the increasing of the symptom reporting (Watson
& Pennebaker, 1989).
Besides, personality traits are also the basis of the individuals' total life quality.
Researchers have discovered that some personality traits, for example, extraversion and
conscientiousness, are connected with QoL in a positive way, while neuroticism is linked to QoL
in a negative way (Steel et al., 2008). These links suggest that taking into account the personality
traits of a person can be very helpful while evaluating the illness perceptions and the life quality
of the individual. To sum up, personality characteristics are the factors that shape people's views
of disease and the resulting life quality outcomes. The knowledge of these relationships can serve
as the basis for the interventions which will be aimed to alter people's health-related beliefs and
thus their general health status.
The link between personality traits, illness perception, and quality of life (QoL) has been
strengthened and research has shown that the personality characteristics of a person determine
the coping strategies he/she will use when facing illness-related problems. This is the case,
people with high conscientiousness, for instance, are more likely to follow the treatment plans
and a healthy lifestyle, thus, they would keep the illness under control and have higher level of
Quality of life (Bogg & Roberts, 2004).
Besides, the connection between personality traits and the interpretation of illness affects
the health results. For example, persons with high degree of neuroticism may see their illness as
more dangerous, thus, in turn, the anxiety and the distress get higher (Watson & Pennebaker,
1989). Such a negative view of illness, in its turn, could increase the symptoms and diminish
QoL. On the other hand, the persons who are very extraverted may see their disease as less
serious and therefore do not have high levels of distress and thus QoL outcomes are better (Lam
et al., 2016). Moreover, personality traits and illness perception can also affect the way people
make health-related decisions, like the following health-related decisions: treatment adherence
and the use of healthcare services. It is the people with a more positive personality disposition
who see their illness as the thing that can be controlled and so they seek the medical help and
follow the treatment recommendations (Suls & Rothman, 2004).
Theoretical Frame Work
Personality traits influencing health outcomes, researchers have emphasized that
personality traits also predict the prognosis of an illness via a variety of pathways. Beliefs
covering the ways how people process the present context and intention to act could be a
possible mechanism between health outcomes and personality traits (Ferguson, 2013). Also,
health behaviours such as exercise and physiological stress responses could be the results of
personality traits referring to pathogenesis (Ferguson, 2013). In other words, personality traits
influence health outcomes both directly and indirectly through beliefs. Beliefs and perceptions
about an illness are conceptualized by Leventhal comprehensively in the Common-Sense Model
(CSM) which emphasizes that offering individuals personal meanings to health threats through
emotional and cognitive representations influences health outcomes (Leventhal et al., 1984;
Hagger & Orbel, 2003).
According to the CSM, illness perceptions affect the individuals’ adjustment to an illness
and their psychological well-being through the effects of illness perceptions on the coping
mechanism (Hagger & Orbell, 2003; Schiaffino et al., 1998). Illness perceptions are comprised
of (a) identity (concerns about the symptoms and label), (b) consequences (beliefs about how an
illness impacts a person’s life), (c) timeline (beliefs about whether the course of the illness is
acute or chronic), (d) cause (ideas about the possible responsible factors causing the illness such
as psychological attributions), (e) cure/control (beliefs about whether the person’s conditions are
curable or controllable), (f) illness coherence (perceptions associated with the coherent
understanding of an illness), and (g) emotional representations (given emotional reactions to the
illness such as fear, anger, worry) (Moss-Morris et al., 2002). Many studies theoretically have
tested the CSM in various illnesses and revealed that negative illness perceptions are associated
with poor HRQOL (Cartwright et al., 2009; Scharloo et al., 2005; Spain et al., 2007).
The CSM suggests that illness perceptions are formed by several factors including
previous illness experience, social environment, and personality traits that may affect the way
individuals perceive the illness threat (Diefenbach & Leventhal, 1996; Hagger & Orbell, 2003).
A study by Lawson et al. (2010) examined the relationship between personality types and illness
perceptions of diabetes patients. The results of the study showed that diabetes patients with high
scores in neuroticism and conscientiousness experienced more negative emotional representation
and more severe consequences. The patients who had high scores in openness and extroversion
reported more control over diabetes. Another study that investigated the possible role of
personality traits in illness perceptions demonstrated that high neuroticism was negatively
associated with illness control and positively associated with consequences, while the other
dimensions of personality traits had no significant relationship with illness perceptions (Rassart
et al., 2014). These findings support the assumption that personality traits can influence illness
perceptions as a potential mechanism and so can have an impact on health outcomes.
Although the previous research offers significant information about the interaction
between personality traits and illness perceptions in diabetes research, the extent to which
personality traits are associated with illness perceptions in IBS research remains unclear. In sum,
personality traits are accepted as stable and unchangeable dispositions; however, they may affect
illness perceptions which can be modified through a variety of interventions targeting
dysfunctional beliefs about an illness to improve health outcomes (Rassart et al., 2014). One
study conducted on myocardial infarction supported this since it showed that a brief intervention
program focusing on modifying illness perception resulted in the improvement of physical health
outcomes (Broadbent et al., 2009).
Illness
Perception
Personality Quality of
traits Life
