title: Relationships of personality traits and stress to gingival status or soft-tissue oral pathology: an exploratory study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of personality traits and stress with gingival inflammation and with soft-tissue oral pathology.
  
  
  METHODS
  Personality traits of psychoticism (P), extroversion and introversion (E), and neuroticism (N) were measured with Eysenck's personality questionnaire (EPQ). Stress was measured with a modified organizational and individual assessment survey (OIAS) developed by Hendrix. Military recruits from Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, were examined for soft-tissue oral pathology and gingival status at weeks one (n = 241) and six (n = 61) of basic combat training (BCT). The EPQ and OIAS were administered to 217 recruits during week six of BCT. A discriminant analysis was used to determine correlations among study variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant correlations (P < .05) were found between personality traits and various measures of tolerance of stress. Little variance was found between groups originally presenting with or without disease. Only physical stress (P < .005) was shown to affect soft-tissue pathology, while gingival inflammation correlated significantly to E scores (P < .02), tolerance to change (P < .02), and anxiety (P < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Data support a possible relationship among certain personality traits, stress variables, and gingival inflammation or soft-tissue pathology in recruits with extreme personality characteristics or perception of high physical stress levels in basic combat training.
authors.affiliation: College of Health Professions, Wichita State University, KS 67260-0144, USA.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Minneman
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cobb
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Soriano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schuchman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005892:Gingivitis, Necrotizing Ulcerative / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007439:Introversion, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000150:complications; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications; D013281:Stomatitis, Aphthous / Q000209:etiology; D013283:Stomatitis, Herpetic / Q000209:etiology; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000150:complications*