Sweet disposition : five-factor personality traits and trajectories of glycaemic control, self-care, negative affect and coping in Australian youth with type 1 diabetes

Abstract

Type I diabetes is a chronic endocrine disease which can significantly impact upon the life of a young person. Poor glycaemic control can lead to grave and irreversible complications and the prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress in this cohort is high. Despite therapeutic advances, there is much variability in youths' responses to treatment programs and many struggle to cope effectively with their condition. Whilst prior research suggests that five-factor model personality traits influence a young person's self-management of diabetes, longitudinal findings have not been reported and the role of personality in determining psychological wellbeing in this population is unclear. This is unfortunate as personality research could help health-care professionals to identify individuals at risk for poor outcomes and allow them to intervene early. The aim of the current investigation was to elucidate the role of five-factor model personality traits in longitudinal trajectories of glycaemic control, self-care and psychological wellbeing in youth with type I diabetes. A total of 104 Australian children and adolescents (aged 8-19 years at baseline) from the Diabetes Research into Adolescent Transitions (DRAT) project participated in this study. Participants completed the Five-Factor Personality Inventory for Children (FFPI-C), the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS 21) and the Coping with a Disease questionnaire (CODI) annually over three years. Participants also reported annual demographic, self-care and treatment information and provided a yearly capillary blood sample to determine quality of glycaemic control. Bivariate analyses and multiple regressions were employed to identify five-factor model traits that predicted self-management outcomes independent of controls. Next, groups were created using baseline scores of personality traits and mixed-design and repeated-measures analyses of variance were employed to assess the role of personality in trajectories of self-management outcomes. Results demonstrated that five-factor model personality traits are associated with several critical aspects of self-management. Furthermore, these relationships often persist or have a cumulative effect over time. Low levels of conscientiousness were associated with less frequent blood glucose testing and deterioration of glycaemic control over the course of the three-year study. Similarly, low agreeableness was associated with worsening glycaemic control and was also associated with greater avoidance coping. Low levels of emotional regulation were related to higher ratings of depression, anxiety and stress and greater avoidance coping. Interestingly, emotional regulation showed a curvilinear relationship with glycaemic control. Those moderate in emotional regulation had superior glycaemic control over time. Finally, high levels of openness to experience were related to increases in acceptance of diabetes over the time. Overall, these findings suggest that personality plays a crucial role in a young person's self-management of type I diabetes over time. This underlines the need for clinicians to consider patient personality when formulating treatment plans. Further research is needed to uncover variables that mediate associations between the personality and self-management outcomes measured here.

Date of Award	2013
Original language	English