Personality profiles of candidate patients for surgical treatment of obesity in the context of recommendations for psychological interventions in the pre- and post-operative periods

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of the study was to investigate and identify similarities and differences in the severity of personality traits of candi-date patients for surgical treatment of obesity in the context of developing psychological recommendations in the pre- and post-operative period.Participants and procedureThe study included 101 patients (74 females, 27 males) aged between 22 and 64 (M = 40.46, SD = 9.25) undergoing evalua-tion for surgical treatment of obesity at the University Hospital in Krakow. An examination of personality traits with the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) was conducted. The results presented here are an extract from an ongoing longitudinal study. The data were statistically processed using cluster analysis.ResultsThree clusters of personality traits were identified. The first cluster is characterised by low results in the factor Neuroticism and high results in the factors Extraversion, Openness to experience, Conscientiousness. The second cluster shows high val-ues in the Neuroticism factor and low values in the Extraversion and Conscientiousness factors. Third cluster is character-ised by low results in the factor Neuroticism and Extraversion, and high results in Openness to experience and Conscien-tiousness factors.ConclusionsThe three identified clusters of personality traits of bariatric patients indicate a diversity of patients in terms of personality trait profiles. Due to the characteristics of these profiles and the resulting functioning modes, the first profile has been called ‘action-focused’, the second profile ‘emotion-focused’ and the third profile ‘avoidance-focused’. The results justify the need for an individualised approach in the surgical treatment of obesity. The results presented are of clinical value to the psychologist’s practice in the context of developing treatment-relevant recommendations for psychological interventions in the pre- and postoperative periods. The specific nature of the profiles provides a foundation for recommending, based on the principles of sound clinical practice, psychological interventions conducive to positive treatment outcomes.