title: The relationship of patient and spouse personality to cardiac patients' health: two observational studies of mediation and moderation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the ways that personality is related to patient health, although there is some evidence that illness self-regulation as well as partner personality play a significant role.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the two present studies was to examine the intra-personal (i.e., through illness representations) and the inter-personal (i.e., partner) effects of personality on cardiac patients' subjective health.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred fifteen patients participated in study 1; 75 patients and their spouses participated in study 2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The representations of illness consequences, personal control, and the attribution of illness to emotional causes mediated the relation of personality to health (first study). The relations of patients' extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness to their health were statistically significant at the higher levels (+1 SD) of spouse corresponding traits (second study).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Personality affects patients' health through illness representations (intrapersonal level), as well as by interacting with partner personality (interpersonal level).
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Crete, 74100, Gallos, Rethymnon, Greece, karademas@psy.soc.uoc.gr.
authors.forename: Evangelos C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Karademas
authors.forename: Ioannis
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tsaousis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017008:Negotiating; D010551:Personality; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires