Effect of selected personality traits and stress on symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder diagnosed on the basis of Rome IV criteria. Stress is an important contributor to the development of IBS symptoms, while personality, perceived self-efficacy, resilience, and coping strategies may be indirectly involved in the modulation of the body's response to various stressors. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of selected personality traits and stress with IBS symptoms. We enrolled 129 participants (59 men and 70 women) aged from 18 to 61 years. The study group included 94 patients with IBS, while the control group comprised 35 participants without a diagnosed psychosomatic disorder and chronic comorbidities. Participants were assessed using a self-designed questionnaire as well as the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, NEO-Five Factor Inventory, 25-item Resilience Coping Scale (Skala Pomiaru Prężności - SPP-25), and General Self-Efficacy Scale. We observed a significant effect of personality, perceived self-efficacy, resilience, and coping strategies in patients with IBS. Moreover, stress was shown to be associated with disease severity, while the type of a coping strategy was related to the frequency of symptoms. The groups differed in terms of personality traits such as resilience, self-efficacy, extraversion, and neuroticism. Our study confirms the significant effect of personality traits and coping strategies in patients with IBS.