The Big Five personality factors and psychological well-being following stroke: a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose: To identify and appraise studies investigating the relationship between the Big Five personality factors and psychological well-being following stroke and evidence for personality change.

Methods: Systematic searches of six databases (PsychINFO, CINAHL, Ovid Medline, Cochrane, PubMed, and Web of Science) were conducted from inception to June 2017. Studies involving adult stroke samples that employed a validated measure of at least one of the Big Five personality factors were included. Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility and methodological quality of studies.

Results: Eleven studies were identified that assessed associations between personality and psychological well-being after stroke (nine studies) or post-stroke personality change (two studies). A consistent finding was that higher neuroticism was significantly related to poorer psychological well-being. The evidence for the other Big Five factors was mixed. In terms of personality change, two cross-sectional studies reported high rates of elevated neuroticism (38–48%) and low extraversion (33–40%) relative to normative data. Different questionnaires and approaches to measuring personality (i.e., self vs. informant ratings, premorbid personality vs. current personality) complicated comparisons between studies.

Conclusions: People high on neuroticism are at increased risk of poor psychological well-being after stroke. Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to address the limited research on post-stroke personality change.

Implications for rehabilitation High neuroticism is associated with poorer psychological well-being after stroke. Assessing personality characteristics early after stroke may help to identify those at risk of poor psychological outcomes.