The roles of fatigue, depression, and Big Five Personality traits in males with and without multiple sclerosis disease

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the role of fatigue, depression, and personality traits in males with and without multiple sclerosis (MS) and to investigate the influence of age and the numbers of years of education on these constructs. Participants were 30 males with MS and 30 males without MS from Shiraz City, Iran, who were selected following a sampling method. The Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R), and a demographic questionnaire were applied. Resulting data showed that patients with MS had significantly higher fatigue, depression, and neuroticism compared to control group. Resulting data showed that patients without MS had higher levels of extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness compared with patients with MS. There was no significant effect for age and the numbers of years of education on fatigue and depression, nor on the Big Five personality traits.