Association between temperament and the use of Complementary and Alternative medicine practices

Abstract The present study is a cross-sectional web-based survey conducted in Brazil aiming to describe how individual differences in temperament traits and types could predict the use of the following eight categories of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM): yoga, meditation, reiki, acupuncture, massage, tai chi chuan, homeopathy, and flower remedies. The sample consisted of 22,415 individuals, 69.5% of whom were women, with a mean age of 28.8 years (SD= 9.1). The most commonly used practices were massage and yoga and the variables sex, age, income, and psychopathological diagnosis throughout life were associated with all practices, except tai chi chuan. The inferential analysis relied on logistic regressions and results were calculated based on the odd ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Adaptive manifestations of psychological traits and types were associated with greater use of complementary and alternative medicine practices. Results suggested that profiles with greater emotional regulation tend to use CAM more frequently and possibly obtain benefits.

摘要 本研究为一项在巴西开展的横断面网络调查，旨在探究气质特质与类型的个体差异对八类补充与替代医学（Complementary and Alternative Medicine，CAM）使用行为的预测效力，该八类疗法具体包括瑜伽、冥想、灵气疗法（Reiki）、针灸、按摩、太极拳（Tai Chi Chuan）、顺势疗法与花卉疗法。本次调查共纳入22415名受访者，其中女性占比69.5%，平均年龄为28.8岁（标准差SD=9.1）。使用率最高的CAM疗法为按摩与瑜伽；性别、年龄、收入水平以及终生精神病理学诊断史均与除太极拳外的所有CAM疗法使用情况存在显著关联。本研究采用逻辑回归模型开展推断统计分析，结果以比值比（Odds Ratio）及95%置信区间（Confidence Interval, CI）进行计算与汇报。研究发现，心理特质与类型的适应性表现与CAM疗法的更高使用频率呈正相关；具体而言，情绪调节能力更强的个体往往更频繁地使用补充与替代医学疗法，且更有可能从中获益。