Predicting Medication Adherence Based on Personality Characteristics in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic illness and adherence to medications is vital to manage the illness. The purpose of this study was to examine the prediction of medication adherence based on personality factors in a group of individuals with type 2 diabetes in Yasuj.

One hundred twenty individuals with type 2 diabetes who visited health centers were selected for this study through convenience sampling. The participants completed the NEO-Five Factor Inventory and Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS). The data were analyzed by mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS software.

The results showed that among the big-five personality factors, only neuroticisms significantly predicted adherence to medications (β= -0.31, P-value< 0.003). Furthermore, the model explained only 19% of the variance in medication adherence (R2= 0.19, P-value< 0.01).

This study indicated that a large proportion of patients with type 2 diabetes did not adhere to their medications. This study highlighted that the personality trait of neuroticism was important in predicting medication adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes.