Personality traits and sick leave in workers diagnosed with nonorganic neck pain

  1. Llor Esteban, Bartolomé 1
  2. Sánchez Ortuño, María Montserrat 1
  3. García Izquierdo, Mariano 1
  4. Ruiz Hernández, José Antonio 1
  5. Luna Maldonado, Aurelio 1
  1. 1 Universidad de Murcia
    info

    Universidad de Murcia

    Murcia, España

    ROR https://ror.org/03p3aeb86

Revista:
The Spanish Journal of Psychology

ISSN: 1138-7416

Any de publicació: 2012

Volum: 15

Número: 3

Pàgines: 1272-1282

Tipus: Article

DOI: 10.5209/REV_SJOP.2012.V15.N3.39413 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAccés obert editor

Altres publicacions en: The Spanish Journal of Psychology

Resum

Previous research has suggested that personality can influence the perception and reporting of physical symptoms, such as pain. To assess the relationship between the course of nonorganic neck pain and the individual's personality, we studied the association between two indicators of neck pain prognosis, such as the duration of sick leave associated with neck pain and sick leave recurrence, and 15 personality traits in a sample of 64 workers suffering from disabling neck pain without any signs of physical abnormalities in the neck area. The TEA Personality Test (TPT), a self-report instrument designed to evaluate personality traits related to organizational behaviors, was used. Compared to the normative data, the study sample obtained high scores in the Depression, Anxiety and Emotional Instability scales, thus suggesting a personality profile primarily characterized by high neuroticism-related scores. Controlling for age, gender, and any rehabilitation undergone, we found a positive relationship between Depression and the duration of sick leave (in weeks). Moreover, lower scores on the TPT personality trait Dynamism and activeness were associated with higher likelihood of sick leave recurrence. These findings highlight the need for further research into the role played by personality at the onset and in the maintenance of nonorganic neck pain. Furthermore, they suggest that a complementary psychological approach may be useful to nonorganic neck pain management.

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This research was supported by a grant by Fundación Mapfre Medicina, 2005.

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