INFLUENCE OF ILLNESS INTRUSIVENESS, NEUROTICISM AND DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES ON EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AMONG HYPERTENSIVE AND DIABETIC PATIENTS

ABSTRACT Receivfll 2~d !tfr,rch 2013 ACf;9Pl~ 'f! 15~1iMay, 2013 Publi §hed ................. . This cross-sectional survey investigated the influence of illness intrusiveness and personality on emotional distress in chronic medical conditions. Participants were 259 outpatient attendees of two General Hospitals in Ibadan, South-Western Nigeria: 137 in treatment for hypertension and 122 in treatment for diabetes mellitus. A psychological battery, consisting of standardized measures of illness intrusiveness, personality (neuroticism), emotional distress and a socio-demographic prototype was used to collect data. Initial analyses indicated that the two samples (diabetic and hypertensive patients) were significantly high (and differentially so) on emotional distress illness (t = 3.04; p<.05), illness intrusiveness (t = 12.28; p<.001) and neuroticism (t = 2.61; p<.05). Furthermore, results indicated that a high level of illness intrusiveness and high neuroticism were indicative of more emotional distress in both diabetes {F(1,118)=5.44;P<.05} and hypertension {F(1,133)=78.40;P<.001}, with both differentially influencing emotional distress. It was strongly recommended that individuals experiencing chronic illness should be helped and encouraged to engage in hobbies and valued activities as much as possible in order to reduce their perceived illness intrusiveness. Psychological intervention should also be conducted for these individuals in order to reduce emotional distress