Personality Characteristics of Chronic Insomniacs

Ham, Byung Joo; Kim, Leen; Suh, Kwang Yoon

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
It is very important to understand the personality characteristics of chronic insomniacs far diagnosis and treatment in clinical practice. The authors investigated the personality factors and the ways of coping to define the personality characteristics which underly the development of insomnia.
METHODS
The authors used the diagnostic criteria of International Classification of Sleep Disorders to diagnose chronic insomnia, and performed 16 Personality Factors(PF) test and the Ways of Coping Checklist to both chronic insomniacs and normal controls. The diagnosis of chronic insomnia included psychophysiologic insomnia, poor sleep hygiene, and hypnotics dependent insomnia. The subjects were 21 chronic insomniacs and 26 normal controls.
RESULTS
The chronic insomniacs showed significantly lower stableness(C factor ; 4.57 +/-1.89 VS 7.38+/-1.83), intelligence(B factor ; 3.76+/-2.23 VS 6.54+/-1.96), motivation distorsion(B factor ; 3.76+/-2.23 VS 6.54+/-1.96) factor scores, and higher guilt-proneness(O factor ; 6.67+/-2.11 VS 3.81+/-1.65), tension and anxiety(Q4, factor ; 7.57+/-2.29 VS 3.46+/-1.88) factor scores than controls in 16 PF. The chronic insomniacs had significantly higher emotional-focused coping(30.30+/-9.53 VS 24.52+/-5.71) and passive coping pattern scores(50.75+/-13.76 VS 43.26+/-8.73) than controls in the Ways of Coping Checklist.
CONCLUSION
The authors suggest that chronic insomniacs are characterized by depressive mood and anxiety-proneness from low ego strength, high levels of anxiety and guilty feelings, and passive and emotion-concentrated coping pattern. This traits are supposed to be factors contributing the state of emotional arousal and resultant physiological activation that has developed and maintained the insomnia.