Is Personality a Key Predictor of Missing Study Data? An Analysis From a Randomized Controlled Trial
Ann Fam Med Jerant et al.
7: 148
The Article in Brief
Is Personality a Key Predictor of Missing Study Data? An Analysis From a Randomized Controlled Trial
Anthony Jerant and colleagues
Background In clinical research studies, psychological factors may affect decisions by study participants to drop out of the study, keep data collection appointments, and/or complete items on a questionnaire, but these factors are rarely measured. This study examines the relationship between personality factors and missing data in a randomized controlled trial.
What This Study Found Personality traits help predict missing study data in this randomized controlled trial. Missing data were less likely among participants with higher levels of openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness.
Implications
- Personality-related missing data may affect the results of some randomized controlled trials.
- Assessing personality could be useful in maximizing the completion of data in research studies and in accounting for bias due to missing data in the data analyses.
