Reliability of the NEO Five Factor Inventory short form for assessing personality after stroke

Background: It is well recognized that an individual's personality characteristics influence their psychological adjustment after stroke. However, there is a lack of research on the reliability of personality inventories for stroke. This study primarily aimed to evaluate the reliability of the Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness to Experience (NEO)-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) for assessing pre-morbid personality and personality changes after stroke. Further aims were to investigate changes in personality during the hospital-to-home transition period and examine associations between personality and mood. Methods: Forty participants with stroke (52.5% male, M age= 65.55 years) were recruited at time of hospital discharge and completed the NEO-FFI, Centre for Epidemiologic Studies -Depression and Geriatric Anxiety Inventory. Significant others completed an informant version of the NEO-FFI. Stroke participants were reassessed on the NEO-FFI at 1-month and 4-months post-discharge. Forty matched controls also completed the NEO-FFI. Results: Internal consistency was adequate for the NEO-FFI (alpha = 0.57-0.86), although low for agreeableness. There was fair to excellent concordance between self-rated and informant versions of the NEO-FFI (ICC= 0.58-0.78). Significant positive associations were found between neuroticism and mood (r= 0.500.68), and significant negative associations were found between extraversion and mood (r=-0.33-0.36) and agreeableness and anxiety (r=-0.43). Self-ratings of stroke participants on the NEO-FFI at discharge did not significantly differ from matched controls. Extraversion levels significantly decreased, and agreeableness levels significantly increased between discharge and 1-and 4-months post-discharge. Conclusions: Overall, the results support the reliability of the NEO-FFI for assessing personality characteristics in the context of stroke.