The illness cognition approach proposes that individuals try to make sense of changes in their somatic state. Through the process of sense-making, individuals develop their models of illness. These models influence their coping strategies as well as their quality of life. Illness cognition has been studied as an independent variable related to health-related outcomes. However, personality is a relatively understudied domain concerning illness cognition and patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Some evidence in the literature indicates that personality can influence how patients cognize their Illness. The paper investigates whether personality types influence illness cognition and HRQoL in myocardial infarction (MI) patients. It also explores whether the illness cognition of the patients mediates the relationship between personality types and HRQoL. A sample of 212 MI patients responded to questionnaires related to personality type A and type D tests, illness cognition and HRQoL. Results demonstrated that type A and type D personality differ on four dimensions of illness cognition: Identity, controllability (personal control), timeline (timeline cyclic) and illness coherence (coherent understanding of disease). Results revealed that type A and type D participants significantly differed on emotional, physical, social, and total HRQoL. Illness cognition partially mediates the relationship between personality types and HRQoL. The findings have important implications for the health management of MI patients, as personality types plays a vital role in understanding illness, coping and HRQoL.

Authors:
Rajbala Singh, The LNM Institute of Information Technology, India
Shikha Dixit, Indian Institute of Technology, India

About the Presenter(s)
Rajbala Singh is working as an Associate Professor, Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, LNMIIT, Jaipur, India. Her teaching and research interest include Health Psychology, Psychology of Technology, Organizational Behavior, Social Psychology.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-rajbala-singh-a2b211219/

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rajbala-Singh-3

Additional website of interest
https://www.lnmiit.ac.in/Department/HSS/HSS_FacultyProfile.aspx?nDeptID=74

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