Personality traits in migraine and tension-type headaches: a five-factor model study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Psychiatry
• Personality Psychology

Background:

• Abnormal personality traits are frequently reported in primary headache patients.
• A clear, standardized definition, such as the five-factor model, is needed to understand personality overlaps.
• Personality in episodic tension-type headache (ETH) and migraine with aura (MA) is less studied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate personality traits in patients with different types of primary headaches using a five-factor model.
• To compare personality profiles of chronic tension-type headaches (CTH), ETH, MA, and migraine without aura (MO) patients with healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• Administered Zuckerman-Kuhlman's Personality Questionnaire to 72 CTH, 33 ETH, 15 MA, 57 MO patients, and 58 healthy controls.
• Assessed depressive trends using Plutchik-van Praag's Depression Inventory.
• Analyzed data based on a five-factor personality model framework.

Main Results:

• CTH, ETH, and MO groups exhibited significantly greater neuroticism-anxiety and depression compared to healthy controls.
• The MO group showed significantly higher aggression-hostility than healthy controls.
• No abnormal personality traits were identified in MA patients.

Conclusions:

• Confirms previous reports on personality in primary headache patients from a five-factor model perspective.
• Elevated aggression-hostility is specifically associated with migraine without aura.
• Episodic tension-type headache and migraine with aura require further investigation regarding personality traits.