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Personality and Illness Adaptation in Adults with Type 1 Diabetes: The Intervening Role of Illness Coping and Perceptions

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Abstract

Inspired by the common sense model, the present cross-sectional study examined illness perceptions and coping as intervening mechanisms in the relationship between Big Five personality traits and illness adaptation in adults with Type 1 diabetes. A total of 368 individuals with Type 1 diabetes (18–35 years old) completed questionnaires on personality, diabetes-related problems, illness perceptions, and illness coping. First, Neuroticism, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness predicted patients’ illness adaptation, above and beyond the effects of sex, age, and illness duration. Second, illness coping was found to be an important mediating mechanism in the relationship between the Big Five and illness adaptation. Finally, perceived consequences and perceived personal control partially mediated the relationship between the Big Five and illness coping. These findings underscore the importance of examining patients’ personality to shed light on their daily functioning and, hence, call for tailored intervention programs which take into account the personality of the individual patient.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Luc Goossens, for his comments on an earlier version of this article.

Conflict of interest

Authors Jessica Rassart, Koen Luyckx, Theo A. Klimstra, Philip Moons, Chris Groven and Ilse Weets declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology, School Psychology and Child and Adolescent Development, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Jessica Rassart & Koen Luyckx

  2. Faculty of Psychology, Developmental and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Theo A. Klimstra

  3. Department of Public Health, Centre for Health Services and Nursing Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Philip Moons

  4. Division of Congenital and Structural Cardiology, University Hospitals of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Philip Moons

  5. The Heart Centre, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Philip Moons

  6. Diabetes Research Center, Free University Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

    Chris Groven & Ilse Weets

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  1. Jessica Rassart
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  2. Koen Luyckx
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Correspondence to Jessica Rassart.

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Rassart, J., Luyckx, K., Klimstra, T.A. et al. Personality and Illness Adaptation in Adults with Type 1 Diabetes: The Intervening Role of Illness Coping and Perceptions. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 21, 41–55 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-014-9387-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-014-9387-2

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