Illness Belief, Personality Traits and Treatment Compliance among Adolescents with Sickle Cell Disease in Ghana

Abstract

Sickle cell disease is a genetic condition that has both physical and psychological impact on individuals who have the condition. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of illness belief and personality traits on treatment compliance among adolescents with sickle cell disease as well as the moderating role of belief about medicine between illness belief and treatment compliance. A total sample of 120 adolescents with sickle cell disease (68 SC genotype, 49 SS genotype and 3 with other genotypes) were recruited from two hospitals (Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and Tema General Hospitals) all in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The study was purely quantitative and the cross sectional survey method was adopted. The Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R), The Big Five Inventory (BFI), The Belief about Medicine Questionnaire (BMQ) and the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5) were administered to the participants to measure participants illness belief, personality traits, belief about medicine and compliance to treatment respectively. Results of the Analysis using the Pearson correlation indicated that apart from the illness identity dimension, all the other illness belief dimensions (timeline-acute and chronic, consequences, personal control, treatment control, illness coherence, timeline cyclical and emotional representation) were significantly related to treatment compliance. Further analysis using the multiple regression analysis showed that timeline cyclical was a significant predictor of treatment compliance than the other dimensions followed by emotional representation, timeline-acute and chronic, treatment control and illness coherence. The pearson correlation analysis also showed a significant relationship between neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness and treatment compliance. Multiple regression analysis showed that agreeableness was a major significant predictor of treatment compliance followed by conscientiousness then neuroticism. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that belief about medicine significantly moderated the relationship between illness belief and treatment compliance. Some of the findings from the study were consistent with earlier studies while others were not. The findings and limitations were discussed in relation to theories and earlier studies. It was concluded that illness belief as well as personality traits influence compliance to treatment in adolescents with sickle cell disease and belief about medicine also plays a role in explaining the relationship between illness belief and treatment compliance. The outcomes of this study have significant implications for clinical management and research design in psychological researches involving adolescents with sickle cell disease.