The Big Five Personality Traits and Self-Management in Chronic Disease: A Scoping Review of Mediating Pathways.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the mediating mechanism of the Big Five Personality traits on the self-management behaviors of patients with chronic diseases.

METHODS

Searched nine databases (2015-2025) for studies of adult chronic disease patients measuring both Big Five traits and self‑management. Two reviewers extracted data; narrative synthesis was performed.

RESULTS

Included 27 studies involving adults with chronic diseases. In summary, personality traits may be associated with self-management behaviors through three potential mechanisms, (1) Cognitive-emotional path: Neuroticism may weaken self-management by reducing psychological resilience and exacerbating cognitive biases; Conscientiousness is associated with high self-efficacy and may promote self-management. (2) Social resource path: Extraversion helps obtain social support and improve self-management; Agreeableness is related to better compliance, but it may weaken self-assertion in a group setting. (3) Individual-task matching path: Openness individuals is conducive to innovative health management, but it may not be beneficial for long-term repetitive tasks; excessive conscientiousness may have adverse effects.

CONCLUSION

Personality may affect self-management through a series of malleable mediations. This review summarizes the interrelationships among personality, mediators, and behaviors, which can provide a reference direction for the subsequent construction of theoretical models and the individualized intervention research based on personality traits for patients.