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Associations between personality traits and depressive and anxiety symptoms among persons with spinal cord injury in first inpatient rehabilitation

Spinal Cord volume 62, pages 178–182 (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Study design

Retrospective analysis of medical records.

Objective

To assess personality traits in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and compare these with the general population group. Moreover, to explore associations between personality traits and depressive and anxiety symptoms among persons with SCI in first inpatient rehabilitation.

Setting

Specialized rehabilitation center in The Netherlands.

Methods

Data were used from a routine psychological screening, administered in the first weeks of admission (N = 67). Measures included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Dutch Personality Questionnaire, which includes subscales measuring neuroticism, social inadequacy, rigidity, hostility, egoism, dominance, and self-esteem. Correlational and regression analyses were conducted.

Results

Mean age of the participants was 58 (SD 17) years. The majority (63%) were male, and had a low lesion (57%). The participants scored significantly higher on dominance and lower on social inadequacy, hostility, and egoism in comparison with the general population.

In the bivariate regression analyses, high neuroticism (β = 0.42 and β = 0.53) and low self-esteem (β = -0.25 and β = -0.29) were significantly associated with increased depressive and anxiety symptoms. In the hierarchical regression analyses, only high neuroticism was significantly associated with increased depressive (β = 0.42, p < 0.05) and anxiety (β = 0.55, p < 0.001) symptoms.

Conclusions

Personality traits are not the same between the SCI population and the general population. Assessment of personality traits early in inpatient rehabilitation can help to identify individuals at risk of mood problems and, thereby, facilitate interventions. Future research with a larger, representative SCI sample, is required to confirm these findings.

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Data availability

The dataset analyzed during the current study is available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the participating psychologists, psychology assistants, and participants of the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Excellence for Rehabilitation Medicine, UMC Brain Center, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht University and De Hoogstraat Rehabilitation, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Christel M. C. van Leeuwen, Erika Papazoglou, Janneke M. Stolwijk-Swüste & Marcel W. M. Post

  2. Department of Spinal Cord Injury and Orthopedics, De Hoogstraat Rehabilitation, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Christel M. C. van Leeuwen & Janneke M. Stolwijk-Swüste

  3. Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Erika Papazoglou & Janske H. W. van Eersel

  4. University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Centre for Rehabilitation, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Marcel W. M. Post

Authors
  1. Christel M. C. van Leeuwen
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  2. Erika Papazoglou
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  3. Janske H. W. van Eersel
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  4. Janneke M. Stolwijk-Swüste
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  5. Marcel W. M. Post
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Contributions

CMCvL designed the study, collected the data, supervised the data analysis and writing of the report, and contributed to the writing of the report. EP analyzed the data and drafted the report. JMS-S collected the data and provided feedback on the drafts of the report. MWMP contributed to the data analysis and writing of the report. JWHvE provided feedback on the data analyses and the various drafts of the report.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christel M. C. van Leeuwen.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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van Leeuwen, C.M.C., Papazoglou, E., van Eersel, J.H.W. et al. Associations between personality traits and depressive and anxiety symptoms among persons with spinal cord injury in first inpatient rehabilitation. Spinal Cord 62, 178–182 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-024-00964-z

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