The Comparison of Personality Characteristics in Women with Diabetes Type II and Normal Women

Diabetes is a chronic disease of the endocrine metabolism, i.e., associated with the bodychr('39')s inability to metabolize glucose effectively. Types 1 and 2 diabetes are the most frequent types of this disease, requiring long–term treatment; of the most important complications are psychological and personality disorders that negatively affect the patientchr('39')s ability to receive and maintain medical care. Regarding the spread of diabetes in Iran and other countries, efforts and measures to prevent, control, and cure this disease are often focused on medical and pharmaceutical care; but, the psychological and personality factors have been less considered. Therefore, exploring personality traits to recognize the factors associated with diabetes can help to identify those who are susceptible to this disorder. It could also be beneficial in the prevention, incidence control, and treatment of patients. Recognizing personality traits in diabetic and healthy people is of importance; accordingly, the current results could be used in plans for the elaboration of a healthy lifestyle and prevent the development of chronic diseases, like diabetes. Some personality traits are related to the type of nutrition and unhealthy lifestyle; thus, conducting such research is inevitable. According to the literature, data comparing personality characteristics in women with and without type 2 diabetes are scarce. Theoretically, the present study results could enhance the understanding of personality factors affecting type 2 diabetes. Practically, special attention should be paid to personality traits for the proper prevention and screening of diabetic patients. Furthermore, neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness play an inhibitory role in the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Therefore, based on these characteristics, the occurrence and non–occurrence of diabetes mellitus can be relatively predicted based on the other associating factors. Diabetes is a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and increased healthcare costs worldwide. Accordingly, the present study compared personality characteristics of women with type II diabetes and their healthy counterparts.

Using a convenience sampling method, this cross–sectional study was conducted on 90 women with type 2 diabetes, referring to the Diabetes Association in Karaj City, Iran, in 2017 as well as 90 healthy women as the control group. The Revised NEO Personality Inventory by Costa and McCrea was applied to collect data. In addition, Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used for data analysis in SPSS at a significance level of α=0.05.

The MANOVA results suggested a significant difference between personality characteristics in women with type 2 diabetes and healthy women (p<0.001). Besides, the mean scores of neuroticism in women with type 2 diabetes were significantly higher than those of their healthy counterparts. Moreover, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness values in women with type 2 diabetes were significantly lower than those of the healthy subjects (p<0.001).

The study findings have significant implications for the pathology of type 2 diabetes. Accordingly, professionals in clinical psychology and counseling could use these results for the prevention and treatment of personality problems caused by type 2 diabetes.