Procedia

Social and
Behavioral
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 00 (2011) 000–000
Sciences
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 30 (2011) 84 – 88
www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

WCPCG-2011

Comparison of personality characteristics of individuals with

irritable bowel syndrome and healthy individuals
Sedigheh Zarpour a *, Mohammad Ali Besharat b
a
Department of psychology,University of Ttehran, P. O. Box 14155-6456, Tehran, Iran
b
Department of Psychology, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14155-6456, Tehran,Iran

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the personality characteristics of patients with IBS and healthy individuals. Sixty patients
with IBS (26 men, 34 women) and 104 healthy participants (38 men, 66 women) were included in this study. All participants
were asked to complete the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-FFI) and the Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). The
results revealed that patients with IBS have more neuroticism and less extraversion and conscientiousness in comparison with the
healthy individuals. It can be concluded that personality variables can partly predict infection to IBS.
©© 2011 PublishedbybyElsevier
2011Published Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Ltd.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the 2nd World Conference on Psychology, Counselling and
Guidance.
Keywords: Functional gastrointestinal disorder; Personality; Five factor model; Pain; Resilience

1. Introduction

Functional gastrointestinal disorders are one of the common complaints of the digestive system in basic medical
care. One of the most widespread functional gastrointestinal disorders is the Irritable Bowel Syndrome as 8 to 22
percent of the general public experience symptoms identical to those of the condition. Abdominal pain or discomfort
along with altered bowel habits (including diarrhea or constipation) are the main symptoms of IBS (Elsenbruch,
2010; Nicholl, Halder, Macfarlane, Thompson, O ُ Brien et al., 2008; Olatunji, Tolin, & Lohr, 2004; Riedl, Maass,
Fliege, Stengel, Schmidtmann, et al., 2009). There exists little information on the etiology and pathophisiology of
IBS and no certain structural cause has been found to be creating the disorder. Research findings indicate in addition
to the role of a number of biological triggers such as gastrointestinal bacterial infections and visceral sensitivity in
the onset of IBS, psychological factors perform a very important role in the etiology of IBS. Therefore, to account
for the appearance of these syndrome, a multifactor model which considers the interplay of biological, psychological
and social factors needs to be applied (Elsenbruch, 2010; Nicholl et al., 2008; Riedl et al., 2009).

Stress and negative emotions among other psychological factors play an important role in the onset of IBS. The
intestinal nervous system is extremely sensitive to emotional states and in states of excitement changes occur in the
motility of the intestine. Research findings show that the IBS patients respond to the various emotional states such
as anger, fear and anxiety by increasing the motility of the intestine and there is a correlation between a disposition
to control and suppress one's anger and abdominal pain and increase in the intestinal motility after eating food
(Elsenbruch, 2010; Zoccali, Muscatello, Bruno, Barilla, Campolo et al., 2006). According to the five-factor model of
personality, vulnerability to negative emotions is one of the main features of those who score high in the dimension

1877-0428 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the 2nd World Conference on Psychology, Counselling and Guidance.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.017
 Sedigheh Zarpour and Mohammad
Sedigheh Zarpour / Ali Besharat
Procedia / Procedia
– Social - Social and
and Behavioral Behavioral
Sciences Sciences
00 (2011) 30 (2011) 84 – 88
000–000 85

of neuroticism. Accordingly, such individuals are more likely to be exposed to the physical manifestations of their
psychological states like the IBS. Some researchers who have studied the relationship between psychosocial factors
and IBS discovered that compared with healthy individuals, the IBS patients underwent a higher level of depression,
anxiety and neuroticism (Deary, Chalder, & Sharpe, 2007; Gros, Antony, & McCabe, 2009; Nicholl et al., 2008;
Rief & Broadbent, 2007; Riedl et al., 2009). One of the issues investigated in the present study is the examination of
the personality traits of individuals afflicted with IBS according to the five-factor personality model. This issue will
be investigated by comparing the personality traits of those who are suffering from IBS with healthy individuals.

Another personality construct which has intrigued researchers is resilience. Resilience is defined as the dynamic
process of positive adaptation to the adversities and hardships. Resilience according to this definition is more than
overcoming stress and the hardships of life and is accompanied with accomplishing positive outcomes such as
adaptability, positive growth and recovering the former state of psychological balance. Research findings show that
low resilience is associated with vulnerability and psychological disorders (Besharat, 2007b; Burns & Anstey, 2010;
Campbell-Sills, Cohan, & Stein, 2006; Clauss-Ehlers, 2008; Pinquart, 2009). Even though the relationship between
resilience and IBS has not been studied yet, research findings support the correlation between resilience and the
personality dimensions. There is a strong negative correlation between neuroticism and resilience but there is a
positive correlation between extroversion and conscientiousness with resilience (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006). Thus,
based on the research findings supporting the positive correlation between neuroticism and the contraction IBS and
the negative correlation with resilience, it is predicted that resilience is negatively correlated with the onset of IBS.
Low resilience will be accompanied with excessive experience of negative emotions as a result, vulnerability to a
variety of physiological as well as psychological disorders. Besides, as resilience is positively correlated with the
dimensions of extroversion and conscientiousness, it is predicted to have a negative correlation with contraction
IBS.

2. Method

2.1. Participants and Procedure

Sixty patients with IBS (26 men, 34 women; Mage = 27.91 years, age range: 17-50 years) referred to a general
clinic located at the University of Tehran and 104 healthy participants (38 men, 66 women; Mage = 27.49 years, age
range: 17-50 years) from general population were included in this study. Having been provided with the necessary
instructions by the researcher, each participant individually responded to questionnaires including the NEO
Personality Inventory (NEO-FFI) and the Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC).

2.2. Measures
The NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1992)- The NEO-FFI is a 60-item self-report
measure of five-factor model of personality. It consists of five 12-item scales measuring neuroticism, extraversion,
openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Respondents rate each item on a five-point scale from “strongly
disagree” to “strongly agree.” The NEO-FFI has been used extensively in psychology research and has demonstrated
good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and validity (Costa & McCrae, 1992).

Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC; Connor & Davidson, 2003)- The CD-RISC consists of 25 items
designed to measure resilience. Responses are reported on a 5-point Likert scale that ranged from 0 to 4. Adequate
psychometric properties of the CD-RISC have been reported (Besharat, 2007a; Connor & Davidson, 2003).

3. Results

Table 1 illustrates the mean scores and standard deviations of each scale of the personality variables.

2
86 Sedigheh Zarpour
Sedighehand Mohammad
Zarpour Ali Besharat
/ Procedia / Procedia
– Social and - Social
Behavioral and Behavioral
Sciences 00 (2011) Sciences
000–000 30 (2011) 84 – 88

Table1. Mean scores and standard deviations of each scale of the personality variables

Patients (n = 60) Non-patients (n = 104)

Variable Mean (S.D.) Mean (S.D.)

Neuroticism 34.56 (7.05) 31.14 (6.53)

Extroversion 40.24 (6.02) 44.34 (7.36)
Openness 40.37 (5.70) 39.56 (4.96)
Agreeableness 44.38 (6.17) 45.62 (5.61)
Conscientiousness 45.26 (7.35) 48.23 (6.80)
Resilience 90.61 (13.26) 96.35 (16.94)

The results of the multivariate analysis of variance showed that the mean score of neuroticism among the patient
group had a statistically meaningful difference with the mean score of neuroticism of the non-patient group (F1,104 =
7.16, P < 0.01). In terms of extroversion, there was a statistically meaningful difference between the two groups
(F1,104) = 15.13, P < 0.01). The two groups has also showed a significant difference in terms of contentiousness
(F1,104 = 4.28, P < 0.05).

Table2. Multivariate analysis of variance for the patient and non-patient groups based on the personality traits

Variable MS df F P

Neuroticism 356.39 1, 104 7.16 0.01

Extroversion 757.64 1, 104 15.13 0.01
Openness 18.82 1, 104 0.63 0.42
Agreeableness 81.69 1, 104 2.35 0.12
Conscientiousnes 205.25 1, 104 4.28 0.04
Resilience 364.75 1, 104 1.40 0.23

MS = Mean of squares; df = Degree of freedom.

4. Discussion

The present study compared the personality traits of the IBS patients with healthy individuals. The findings
showed that IBS patients scored higher in neuroticism compared to healthy individuals. This is consistent with the
findings of previous studies (Deary et al., 2007; Gros et al., 2009; Nicholl et al., 2008; Rief & Broadbent, 2007).
Disposition to experience negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, sadness, feeling of guilt, and hatred is one of the
main constituents of neuroticism. Negative emotionality causes the neurotic individuals to respond to the hardships
and adversities with intensified stress and pay biased attention to danger signals. Such features increase their
vulnerability in the face of difficult situations in life. Negative emotionality results in continuous physiological
excitement of the nervous system. The intestinal nervous system is extraordinarily sensitive to emotional states. as a
result, these negative emotions cause some changes in the motility of the intestine which can in turn cause intestinal
symptoms similar to those of IBS (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006; Deary et al., 2007; Rief & Broadbent, 2007; Riedl et
al., 2009; Zoccali et al., 2006).

Findings of the present study also indicated that IBS patients compared to healthy individuals scored lower in
extroversion which is consistent with previous research (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006; Zoccali et al., 2006). Extrovert
individuals enjoy a positive emotional style, an ability to develop interpersonal interests and high levels of activity
and social interactions. Positive emotions help extrovert individuals to cope with stressful experiences well both
physiologically and psychologically; as positive emotions extend the individual’s active thinking resources in the
3
 Sedigheh Zarpour and Mohammad
Sedigheh Zarpour / Ali Besharat
Procedia / Procedia
– Social - Social and
and Behavioral Behavioral
Sciences Sciences
00 (2011) 30 (2011) 84 – 88
000–000 87

face of stressful events and consequently the individual’s facilities increase with more flexible thinking and a wider
range of behavioral options in the difficult stages of life. Moreover, extrovert individuals with a disposition for
interpersonal interests and extensive social interactions enjoy strong social support networks as a protective factor in
stressful situations. All these characteristics increase the ability of extrovert individuals to effectively overcome the
deleterious situations. However, a low level of extroversion among IBS patients has put them under a pressure
resulting from passivity, weak activity level and weak social interactions and has intensified the symptoms of the
disease among patients (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006; Deary et al., 2007; Gros et al., 2009; Nicholl et al., 2008; Rief
& Broadbent, 2007).

According to the findings of the present study, even though the difference in resilience between the IBS patients
and the healthy individuals was not meaningful, the average score of resilience among IBS patients was clearly
lower than that of the healthy individuals. The level of resilience has never been investigated in the previous studies.
Previous studies done on the dimension of resilience (Besharat, Salehi, Shahabadi, Nadali, & Zebardast, 2008;
Campbell-Sills et al., 2006) showed that it is positively correlated with certain personality dimensions such as
extroversion. Extroversion extends the individual’s thinking and practical resources to overcome the deleterious
circumstances and to restore the previous balance. Furthermore, resilience is identified with such constituents as
competency and personal strength, tolerance for negative emotions, welcoming positive emotions and safe relations,
control and spirituality which are all correlated with indexes of psychological health and well-being. Therefore, low
resilience level in IBS patients compared to healthy individual is justifiable.

The nature of the current research project was faced with some limitations on the interpretation of the data and
the etiological attribution of study variables which should be taken into account. Besides, the limitations on
completely homogenizing the subjects as well as the limitations on the conduction of the research in medical places
should not be ignored.

References

Besharat, M. A. (2007a). Psychometric propertis of a Farsi version of the Resilience Scale. Unpublished research report. Tehran: University of
Tehran. [Farsi]
Besharat, M. A. (2007b). Resilience, vulnerability and mental health. Journal of Psychologicl Sciences, 24, 373-383. [Farsi]
Besharat, M.A., Salehi, M., Shahabadi, KH., Nadali, H., & Zebardast, A. (2008). Relationship of resilience and diligence to sportive successful
and mental health. Contemporary Psychology, 6, 38-49. [Farsi]
Burns, R.A., & Anstey, K.J. (2010). The Connor- Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC): Testing the invariance of a uni-dimensional
resilience measure that is independent of positive and negative affect. Personality and Individual differences, 48, 527-531.
Campbell-Sills, L., Cohan, S.L., & Stein, M.B. (2006). Relationship of resilience to personality, coping, and psychiatric symptoms in young
adults. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44, 585-599.

Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. T. (2003). Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC).
Depression and Anxiety, 18, 76-82.
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional
manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Deary, V., Chalder, T., & Sharpe, M. (2007). The cognitive behavioural model of medically unexplained symptoms: A theoretical and
empirical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 781-797.
Elsenbruch, S. (2010). Abdominal pain in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A review of putative psychological, neural and neuro-immune
mechanisms. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, xxx, xxx-xxx
Gros, D.F., Antony, M.M., McCabe, R.E., & Swinson, R.P. (2009). Frequency and severity of the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome across
the anxiety disorders and depression. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 290-296.
Nicholl, B.I., Halder, S.L., Macfarlane, G.J., Thompson, D.G., O ُ Brien, S., Musleh, M., & McBeth, J. (2008). Psychosocial risk markers for
new onset irritable bowel syndrome – Results of a large prospective population-based study. Pain, 137, 147-155.
Olatunji, B.O., Tolin, D.F., & Lohr, J.M. (2004). Irritable bowel syndrome: associated features and the efficacy of psychosocial treatments.
Applied and Preventive Psychology, 11, 125-140.
Pinquart, M. (2009). Moderating effects of dispositional resilience on associations between hassles and psychological distress. Journal of
Applied Developmental Psychology, 30, 53-60.

4
88 SedighehSedigheh
Zarpour Zarpour
and Mohammad Ali–Besharat
/ Procedia / Procedia
Social and - Social
Behavioral and Behavioral
Sciences Sciences 30 (2011) 84 – 88
00 (2011) 000–000

Rief, W., & Broadbent, E. (2007). Explaining medically unexplained symptoms-models and mechanisms. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 821-
841.
Riedl, A., Maass, J., Fliege, H., Stengel, A., Schmidtmann, M., Klapp, B.F., & Monnikes, H. (2009). Subjective theories of illness and clinical
and psychological outcomes in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 67, 449-455.
Zoccali, R., Muscatello, M.R.A., Bruno, A., Barilla, G., Campolo, D., Meduri, M., Familiari, L., Bonica, M., Consolo, P., & Scaffidi, M. (2006).
Anger and ego-defence mechanisms in non-psychiatric patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Digestive and Liver Disease, 38, 195-
201.