Personality predictors of emergency department post-discharge outcomes

Personality traits are important predictors of health behaviors, healthcare utilization, and health outcomes. However, we know little about the role of personality traits for emergency department outcomes. The present study used data from 200 patients (effective Ns range from 84 to 191), who were being discharged from the emergency department at an urban hospital, to investigate whether the Big Five personality traits were associated with post-discharge outcomes (i.e., filling prescriptions, following up with primary care physician, making an unscheduled return to the emergency department). Using logistic regression, we found few associations among the broad Big Five domains and post-discharge outcomes. However, results showed statistically significant associations between specific Big Five items (e.g., “responsible”) and the three post-discharge outcomes. This study demonstrates the feasibility of assessing personality traits in an emergency medicine setting and highlights the utility of having information about patients’ personality tendencies for predicting post-discharge compliance.

Psychodynamic personal predictors of alcohol addiction propensity for lawenforcement officers

The article is devoted to the study of personality predictors of alcohol addiction propensity of internal affairs bodies employees within innovative psychodynamic G. Ammon’s (psychoanalytic) approach and structural-dynamic concept of personality. The novelty of the research is the original author’s psychodiagnostic toolkit – Psychodynamically oriented personality questionnaire (POLO) «Resource» and an expert psychodiagnostic system for assessing and predicting the professional psychological health of lawenforcers based on the assessment of central self-functions of the individual rooted in the unconscious. The relevance of the study is due to a significant number of violations of job discipline and legality. That includes accidents committed by employees while intoxicated, often with serious consequences and criminal prosecution, as well as the fairly widespread and concealed cases of alcohol addictions among lawenforcement officers. Another important factor is lack of effective methods of psychodiagnostics, psychocorrection and psychoprophylaxis. The study is based on a comparative analysis of 2 representative polar groups of internal affairs officers: the one verified prone and another of not prone to alcohol abuse. The study revealed that employees prone to alcohol addiction demonstrate a number of reliable psychodynamic personality characteristics that can be viewed as predictors: destructive aggression, deficit fear, deficient internal self-delimitation, as well as the general predominance of destructive-deficient components of the personal self-structure; indicators of psychosomatic, behavioral and neurotic maladaptation, and the integral scale of the general socio-psycho-somatic problem of POLO «Resource». The practical significance of the study is determined by the development of psychodynamic predictors and a special psychodiagnostic scale of propensity for alcohol addiction based on the Resource POLO, which can be used as an effective psychodiagnostic tool when conducting screening and monitoring psychoprophylactic examinations of employees and individual psychocorrectional work within the framework of the psychological support system of employees.

Personality Predictors of Emergency Department Post-Discharge Outcomes

Personality traits are important predictors of health behaviors, healthcare utilization, and health outcomes. However, we know little about the role of personality traits for emergency department outcomes. The present study used data from 200 patients (effective Ns range from 84 to 191), who were being discharged from the emergency department at an urban hospital, to investigate whether the Big Five personality traits were associated with post-discharge outcomes (i.e., filling prescriptions, following up with primary care physician, making an unscheduled return to the emergency department). Using logistic regression, we found few associations among the broad Big Five domains and post-discharge outcomes. However, results showed statistically significant associations between specific Big Five items (e.g., “responsible”) and the three post-discharge outcomes. This study demonstrates the feasibility of assessing personality factors in an emergency medicine setting and highlights the utility of having information about patients’ personality tendencies for predicting post-discharge compliance.

Gender, Age, previous Myocardial Infarction, and Personality as Predictors of Anxiety in Patients after Myocardial Infarction

Objectives: The first research objective was to study the prevalence of anxiety in patients after myocardial infarction; next objective was to investigate demographic and personality predictors of anxiety. Methods: 100 hospitalized patients after myocardial infarction were studied. The Mini IPIP tool was used for the evaluation of personality characteristics and HADS-A scale was used for the evaluation of anxiety. Multiple regression was used as an analytical framework. Results: The prevalence of significant anxiety among patients after myocardial infarction was high, almost one half of patients reported abnormal anxiety symptoms. Female gender, higher age, higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness explain 66% of the variability of anxiety. Personality traits of extraversion, openness, agreeableness and previous myocardial infarctions do not show as significant predictors. Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety in the group of patients after myocardial infarction is high. Knowing predictors of anxiety is important for better provision of care.

Patterns of compliance with COVID-19 preventive behaviours: a latent class analysis of 20 000 UK adults

BackgroundGovernments have implemented a range of measures to tackle COVID-19, primarily focusing on changing citizens’ behaviours in order to lower the transmission of the virus. Few studies have looked at the patterns of compliance with different measures within individuals: whether people comply with all measures or selectively choose some but not others. Such research is important for designing interventions to increase compliance.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from 20 947 UK adults in the COVID-19 Social Study collected from 17 November to 23 December 2020. Self-report compliance was assessed with six behaviours: mask wearing, hand washing, indoor household mixing, outdoor household mixing, social distancing and compliance with other guidelines. Patterns of compliance behaviour were identified using latent class analysis, and multinomial logistic regression was used to assess demographic, socioeconomic and personality predictors of behaviour patterns.ResultsWe selected a four-latent class solution. Most individuals reported similar levels of compliance across the six behaviour measures. High level of compliance was the modal response. Lower self-reported compliance was related to young age, high risk-taking behaviour, low confidence in government and low empathy, among other factors. Looking at individual behaviours, mask wearing had the highest level of compliance while compliance with social distancing was relatively low.ConclusionResults suggest that individuals choose to comply with all guidelines, rather than some but not others. Strategies to increase compliance should focus on increasing general motivations to comply alongside specifically encouraging social distancing.