title: The personality of homeopaths: a cross-sectional survey of the personality profiles of homeopaths compared to a norm sample.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) was used to describe the personality profiles of homeopaths in Norway. It was hypothesized that the homeopaths would score higher than the norm sample on Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness.
  
  
  METHODS
  The NEO-PI-R describes personality scores on five traits; Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. A cross-sectional survey of 128 (39%) members of the Norwegian association for homeopaths was compared with the Norwegian population norm sample.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to the norm population score with a mean of 50, the homeopaths scored significantly higher on the personality traits Openness (54.7) and Agreeableness (58.0). Significant, but small differences were also observed with a higher score on Conscientiousness (52.3) and a lower score on Extraversion (48.3). There were no significant differences on Neuroticism (49.7).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  People who work as homeopaths can be described as open to new and different ideas, and as caring, understanding, and altruistic persons. Therefore, there is reason to believe that these dispositions are central in choosing homeopathy as an occupation. Further research should investigate whether personality traits are associated with important occupational areas such as job satisfaction, occupational stability, or income.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. marit.b.rise@ntnu.no
authors.forename: Marit B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Rise
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Langvik
authors.forename: Aslak
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Steinsbekk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006705:Homeopathy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D010551:Personality; D024382:Professional Role; D055815:Young Adult