Introduction: Control of chronic diabetes is associated with several factors, one of the most important of which is psychological parameters of the patients. Personality traits are considered a subcategory of psychological factors, which are remarkably effective in the management of diabetic patients. Given the rising prevalence of type II diabetes, this study aimed to compare the personality traits of type II diabetic patients and healthy individuals.

Methodology: This causal-comparative (post-event) study was conducted on adult type II diabetic patients (age range: 25-60 years) and their families referring to the Diabetes Center of Hamadan city, Iran. Using non-random purposive sampling, 91 patients were selected for the study. In total, 44 participants were diagnosed with type II diabetes, and 47 healthy individuals were enrolled based on the inclusion criteria of the study. Data were collected using the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (McCrae & Costa, 1992). Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics and multivariate variance analysis (MANOVA).

Results: Our findings indicated that among the five personality traits, components of neuroticism and openness had significant differences between type II diabetic patients and healthy individuals (P<0.001). However, no significant differences were observed in components of extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness between healthy subjects and patients with type II diabetes (P>0.05).

Conclusion: According to the results of this study, personality traits could be considered as contributing factors or intensifiers of type II diabetes.