The Relationship Between Pain and Myers-Briggs Personality Factors

Abstract

Pain is a multifaceted experience with an etiology that can be difficult to trace. Pain can also be difficult to understand and cope with in many instances. This study was an archival research study that examined an existing dataset originally created by Sylvain Guimond and Wael Massrieh for their study, Intricate Correlation between Body Posture, Personality Trait and Incidence of Body Pain: A Cross-Referential Study Report. The researchers sought to analyze whether or not there are links between physical pain and a person's personality. The dataset that was created collected information about various participants including their age, weight, height, sex, and activity level; information about biomechanical pain located in the neck and/or spinal areas was also collected. Personality was assessed using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test of personality. This research presented a correlational analysis between pain and MBTI categories. The results of correlational analyses showed pain was not strongly correlated with MBTI categories. ANOVA was conducted between pain and personality type to gauge whether pain levels were different between MBTI personalities. No significant differences were found between Myers-Briggs personality types and pain. Other descriptive results were also presented.