Diagnosis and Psychotherapeutic Needs by Freiburg Personality Inventory in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Background Despite recent discoveries in pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy, patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) still face challenges with improvement, remission, and healing. The objectives of the study were to identify the characteristics of patients with IBD with the Freiburg Personality Inventory and the intensity of the colonic disease, comorbidities, and other factors that could be related to the personality of the subjects.Methods Data were collected in the period 2019–2020 from 46 patients from records at two hospitals. This study used nonparametric methods, such as the Wilcoxon-Mann–Whitney, Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Mann–Whitney U test, and BOOTSTRAP method. The control group was considered the national normative sample based on the average raw scores on the 12 personality assessment scales using the t test (one sample t test).Results Compared to the control group, the Inhibitedness, Health Concerns, and Emotionality scales had significantly higher raw scores. Additionally, the Social Orientation, Frankness, and Extraversion scales had significantly lower raw scores. Health status was a medical factor that influenced personality scales. On the Somatic Complaints scale, patients who had lesions or comorbidities had significantly higher raw scores. Patients who had comorbidities in addition to IBD had considerably higher raw scores on the Excitability scale.Conclusions Positive affective and cognitive adjustment interventions may aid people with IBD in managing life problems in a balanced manner while interpreting treatment outcomes with confidence. Psychotherapeutic change interventions regarding life perception are required to tackle the description of subjective suffering related to physical inconveniences (Somatic Complaints scale), a strong orientation toward performance (Strain scale), mood swings, anxiety, and pessimism (Emotionality scale). Another intervention is reconsidering values and (re)prioritization, such as family, intimate relationships, friends, health, growth, development, balanced work, all of which can promote a feeling of well-being and balance.