title: Personality traits, level of anxiety and styles of coping with stressin people with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - a comparative analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are a challenge to public health, with the sufferers experiencing a range of psychological factors affecting their health and behavior. The aim of the present study was to determine the level of anxiety, personality traits and stress-coping ability of patients with obstructive lung disease and comparison with a group of healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  The research was conducted on a group of 150 people with obstructive lung diseases (asthma and COPD) and healthy controls (mean age = 56.0 ± 16.00). Four surveys were used: a sociodemographic survey, NEO-FFI Personality Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Brief Cope Inventory. Logistic regression was used to identify the investigated variables which best differentiated the healthy and sick individuals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with asthma or COPD demonstrated a significantly lower level of conscientiousness, openness to experience, active coping and planning, as well as higher levels of neuroticism and a greater tendency to behavioral disengagement. Logistic regression found trait-anxiety, openness to experience, positive reframing, acceptance, humor and behavioral disengagement to be best at distinguishing people with lung diseases from healthy individuals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate the need for intervention in the psychological functioning of people with obstructive diseases.
authors.affiliation: Zakład Rehabilitacji Psychospołecznej UM w Łodzi.
authors.forename: Klaudia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tabała
authors.affiliation: Zakład Rehabilitacji Psychospołecznej UM w Łodzi.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wrzesińska
authors.affiliation: Zakład Metodologii Badań Psychologicznych i Statystyk, Instytut Psychologii, Wydział Nauk o Wychowaniu Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.
authors.forename: Patryk
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stecz
authors.affiliation: Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Umiejętności w Łodzi.
authors.forename: Józef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kocur
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: anxiety; coping with stress; personality profile