title: Does personality influence how people with asthma manage their condition?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Personality traits have been found to be associated with the management of chronic disease, however, there is limited research on these relationships with respect to asthma. Asthma management and asthma control are often suboptimal, representing a barrier to patients achieving good health outcomes. This explorative study aimed to investigate the relationship between correlates of asthma management and personality traits.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants completed a postal survey comprising validated self-report questionnaires measuring personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experiences, agreeableness, conscientiousness), asthma medication adherence, asthma control and perceived control of asthma. Relationships between asthma management factors and personality traits were examined using correlations and regression procedures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 77 surveys were returned from 94 enrolled participants. Significant relationships were found between personality traits and (i) adherence to asthma medications, and (ii) perceived control of asthma. Participants who scored high on the conscientiousness dimension of personality demonstrated higher adherence to their asthma medications. Women who scored low on the agreeableness dimension of personality and high on the neuroticism dimension had significantly lower perceived confidence and ability to manage their asthma. No statistically significant associations were found between asthma control and personality traits.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three of the five personality traits were found to be related to asthma management. Future research into the role of personality traits and asthma management will assist in the appropriate tailoring of interventional strategies to optimize the health of patients with asthma.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney , Sydney, NSW , Australia and.
authors.forename: Melissa Mei Yin
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: LeMay
authors.forename: Bandana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saini
authors.forename: Lorraine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D019468:Disease Management; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality; D012648:Self Care / Q000523:psychology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Control; management; treatment