Enfermedad crónica: satisfacción vital y estilos de personalidad adaptativos

The general life satisfaction is the core indicator of subjective well being, a significant health public parameter. This research aims at describing satisfaction with life of people suffering chronic diseases and at determining what personality characteristics are more adaptive in such conditions. For this purpose the total sample of 160 subjects from five population groups (hemodialysis treatment patients, kidney transplant patients, rheumatoid arthritis patients, ankylosing spondylitis patients, and control group) completeted both the Millon Index of Personality Inventory (MIPS, Millon, 2001) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffing, 1985). The results show that the hemodialysis group is the one with the lowest level of life satisfaction; the personality variables can explain the life satisfaction variance in all groups except in the transplant group. Therefore, the personality factors allow tertiary prevention by improving psychological adjustment and avoiding comorbidity.