Can personality determine the choice of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) treatment? A study into health-consumerism: and an overview of CAM therapies.
Michael Inman
Supervisor: Robin Kirk
Abstract
Objectives The purpose of this study primarily is to investigate whether personality type can determine an individual’s choice of complementary / alternative medical (CAM) therapy.
Experimental hypotheses:
1) The primary experimental hypothesis is that personality type determines the willingness to try CAM therapy, and treatment choice.
2) A further experimental hypothesis is that the more internal (self-determining and proactive) an individual scores higher internal than external (more I than E) the more ‘likely’ that individual is to ‘try’ and ‘believe in’ CAM therapies as part of an active interest in their own health-care.
3) An additional hypothesis is that women will be more willing to try CAM therapies than men.
Methods: A questionnaire was written consisting of ten questions relating to CAM therapy, knowledge of, popularity and choice of use, awareness of title legislation and statutory regulation, and which therapies patients perceive best treat certain medical conditions (including musculo-skeletal pain, depression, anxiety, allergies, asthma, and stress related illnesses).
The remaining seven questions in the questionnaire were adapted from the ‘Health Locus of Control Scale’ developed by Wallston, Kaplan & Maides (1976) following Rotter’s original work on Social Learning Theory (1954) and Locus of Control (1965).
Wallston, Kaplan & Maides (1976) Health Locus of Control Scale claims to be a ‘unidimensional measure of people’s beliefs that their health is or is not determined by their own behaviour’. Wallston, Kaplan & Maides (1976) also report that individuals with a more internal health locus of control are ‘’more likely to engage in positive health and sick role behaviours’’.
The term Type I personality is used in this study to refer to distinguish those more self-determining individuals with a more internal health locus of control (Wallston, Kaplan & Maides 1976) from those more compliant and perhaps more easily influenced (e.g. by health-culture marketing) individuals with a more external health locus of control, referred to as Type E personality (Wallston, Kaplan & Maides 1976; expanded form Rotter 1962).
A total of 103 questionnaires were given out. Eight individuals did not respond, with a further 16 being incomplete and therefore unusable. 79 questionnaires were used to provide the data collected.
The range of CAM therapies listed in the questionnaires are: osteopathy, chiropractic, physiotherapy, acupuncture, homeopathy, Chinese herbs, western herbs, naturopathy, aromatherapy, reflexology, massage, shiatsu, reiki, spiritual healing, hypnotherapy, mediation, yoga
Findings:
1) Differences in uptake (willingness to try) of CAM therapies is determined by personality type, as measured on a health locus of control scale. These results support and confirm the primary experimental hypothesis that personality affects willingness to try and choice of CAM therapy. However, statistical significance was not established.
2) The results reveal, however, that the secondary hypothesis, that type I personalities show more ‘interest in’ and uptake of CAM therapies, is not correct. Here, the null hypothesis is true, that type I individuals do not show greater uptake of CAM therapies. However, a statistically significant difference was not established.
3) The results also clearly show the highest uptake of CAM therapies from middle-range individuals on the type I to E continuum. In other words, those people near the median score (I to E) show the greatest preference for CAM therapies.
4) The results indicate that women show a greater willingness to try (and pay for) private CAM therapies than men.
