Introduction: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the most common gastrointestinal disorder in clinical medicine, since it is not founded biological basis for it, role of psychological causes is investigated in creation of it.
Objective: To compare the personality characteristics between three groups of patients with Diarrhea dominant, Constipation dominant and dominant of Altering type and investigating the gender, family background of IBS and length of illness.
Material and Methods: Eighty five patients were selected through temporal classical random method and included of 21 patients with Diarrhea dominant, 30 patients with Constipation dominant and 34 0patient with Altering type).
Patients were diagnosed by a gastroenterologist and using the ROME criteria after clinical evaluation and endoscopy.
Personality inventory (NEOPI-R) made by Mc Crue and Kosta containing big five personality factors was used for investigating the sampel s personality characteristics. Demographic characteristics and other groups were recognized by question made at the first of main questionnaire. The group’s eperated of each other.
Result: Analysis of data indicated that there were no significantly differences between the personality characterisrics in three groups of patients. Extraversion was significantly higher in patients with family background of IBS and patients who had IBS more than six mounth and had reported stress gained higher score at neuroticism in comparison with patients who had IBS less than 6 month and had not report stress.
Conclusion: Psychological factors participated at quality of illness experience. Neuroticism may be correlated with quality of illness experience (with stress and high length of illness). Thus personality characteristics should be considred as an important factor in improvement of IBS patients by psychiatrics and specialists.