Personality traits and social behaviors predict the psychological adjustment of Chinese people with epilepsy

Very little is known about the psychosocial correlates of psychological morbidity among Chinese people with epilepsy (PWE). No studies have investigated the association between social relationships and psychological morbidity, while most studies examined only the negative impact of maladaptive personalities on psychological adjustment in PWE. This study examined the association of psychological morbidity with a broad array of personality traits and social skills in a sample of 54 Chinese PWE. Respondents completed the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), the Social Performance Survey Schedule (SPSS), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) via semi-structured interview. Regression analyses revealed that, independent of demographic and medical variables and perceived impact, Harm Avoidance was positively associated with anxiety and depression whereas Self-Directedness was negatively associated with anxiety and depression; that Cooperativeness was inversely associated with anxiety. Social skills were inversely associated with depression whereas negative social skills were inversely associated with anxiety. Clinical implications of adaptive personality traits and social skills functioning are discussed. Copyright © 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of British Epilepsy Association.