Personality traits predict self-referral of young male adults with musculoskeletal complaints to a general practitioner.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of personality traits on self-referral to a general practitioner (GP).


METHODS
217 male soldiers who underwent advanced training course filled the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R) and the Perceived Stress Scale and were followed up for a period of 14 weeks. Every soldier who self-referred to the clinic was physically examined by a GP. The major complaint and the GP's diagnosis were documented.


RESULTS
106 of the 217 soldiers self-referred. Self-referred soldiers had significantly (P=.02) higher levels of extraversion than soldiers who did not. Specifically, higher levels of extraversion were evident among soldiers who self-referred with musculoskeletal complaints (P<.05). No significant difference in stress levels was found between soldiers who self-referred and those who did not.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings underscore the association between extraversion and musculoskeletal complaints among young adult males and suggest that psychological variables should be taken under consideration in the prevention and treatment of orthopedic problems.
Medical Corps, Israel Defense Forces, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Yahav
Y
Oron
Abraham
A
Reichenberg
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009140:Musculoskeletal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010551:Personality; D010556:Personality Tests; D010821:Physicians, Family; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013315:Stress, Psychological