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Agency and Communion in People with Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the previously found relations among the gender-linked personality orientations of agency, communion, unmitigated agency, and unmitigated communion, and health outcomes existed within a sample of adults with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic disease that is more prevalent among women than among men. We obtained self-report data from 158 participants on the gender-linked personality orientations, psychological distress, disability, pain, and life satisfaction. As hypothesized, regression analyses indicated that agency was significantly associated with better health outcomes, whereas unmitigated communion was associated with poorer health outcomes. Assessment of these personality variables in people with rheumatoid arthritis may help to identify those at high risk for adverse outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social-Personality Psychology Program, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York

    Kimberlee J. Trudeau & Tracey A. Revenson

  2. Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, New York

    Sharon Danoff-Burg

  3. Hospital for Special Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, New York

    Stephen A. Paget

Authors
  1. Kimberlee J. Trudeau
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  2. Sharon Danoff-Burg
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  3. Tracey A. Revenson
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  4. Stephen A. Paget
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Correspondence to Kimberlee J. Trudeau.

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Trudeau, K.J., Danoff-Burg, S., Revenson, T.A. et al. Agency and Communion in People with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Sex Roles 49, 303–311 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025192818638

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