title: Chronic fatigue syndrome and personality: a case-control study using the Alternative Five Factor Model.
abstract: Neuroticism is the personality dimension most frequently associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Most studies have also shown that CFS patients are less extraverted than non-CFS patients, but results have been inconsistent, possibly because the facets of the extraversion dimension have not been separately analyzed. This study has the following aims: to assess the personality profile of adults with CFS using the Alternative Five-Factor Model (AFFM), which considers Activity and Sociability as two separate factors of Extraversion, and to test the discriminant validity of a measure of the AFFM, the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire, in differentiating CFS subjects from normal-range matched controls. The CFS sample consisted of 132 consecutive patients referred for persistent fatigue or pain to the Department of Medicine of a university hospital. These were compared with 132 matched normal population controls. Significantly lower levels of Activity and significantly higher levels of Neuroticism-Anxiety best discriminated CFS patients from controls. The results are consistent with existing data on the relationship between Neuroticism and CFS, and clarify the relationship between Extraversion and CFS by providing new data on the relationship of Activity to CFS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d׳Hebron, Passeig de la Vall d׳Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: nasaez@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Naia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sáez-Francàs
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d׳Hebron, Passeig de la Vall d׳Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: svalero@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Sergi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Valero
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d׳Hebron, Passeig de la Vall d׳Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: nacalvo@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Calvo
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici B, 08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: montserrat.goma@uab.cat.
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gomà-I-Freixanet
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari Vall D´Hebron, Passeig de la Vall d׳Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: jalegre@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alegre
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitari Vall D´Hebron, Passeig de la Vall d׳Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: tomas.fernandezdesevilla@uab.cat.
authors.forename: Tomás Fernández
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: de Sevilla
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitari Vall d׳Hebron, Passeig de la Vall d׳Hebron 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Electronic address: mcasas@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Miquel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety; D001008:Anxiety Disorders; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005221:Fatigue / Q000523:psychology; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000075384:Neuroticism; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011594:Psychometrics; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: AFFM; Chronic fatigue syndrome; Extraversion; Neuroticism; Personality; ZKPQ