Introduction

Type D personality is considered one of the factors that can influence a person’s quality of life and health. Assessing the stability of type D personality traits over time is important in the context of public health because it can provide information regarding their potential role as predictors of disease development.

Material and methods

The study involved 152 people – 60 residents of a single-family housing estate in Czeladź-Piaski and 92 medical students of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice. Statistical analysis included data collected from individuals aged 19-76. The Polish version of the DS-14 questionnaire was used in the study. The study was a repeated measures design. The statistical significance of differences was assessed using the c² test, Fisher’s exact test, and the Mann-Whitney U test. The k coefficient was calculated to assess the consistency of the results. Cochran’s Q test was used to assess differences in the frequency of type D personality traits between subsequent measurements. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 13.3 software.

Results

Type D personality traits were found to be more common in the group of housing estate residents than in the group of students. Assessment of the consistency of Type D personality traits in the group of residents demonstrated very good repeatability after one month and good repeatability after one year of follow-up. In the group of students, good repeatability was demonstrated after one month and one year of the first measurement. Moderate repeatability was demonstrated after two years of follow-up.

Conclusions

Type D personality traits showed high repeatability in the older group, whereas in the younger group lower consistency was observed in the longer follow-up. The frequency of type D personality traits did not change significantly across subsequent measurements. A higher percentage of type D personality traits was observed in the younger group.