How well do you know the patient standing before you?

Introduction: There is a paucity of knowledge about personality traits of children and adolescents with lower limb differences. This study investigated the following: (1) comparison of personality traits of patients with limb differences to the general population; (2) comparison of male and female personality traits; and (3) comparison of personality traits, based on the five-factor model, between persons who had lower limb amputation at a young age vs. an older age. Methods: Thirty participants with unilateral lower limb differences completed Inventory of Children's Individual Differences (short version) during a routine clinical visit. Results: Mean raw scores for openness to experience and agreeableness personality traits were statistically higher for participants with amputations compared with published general population. However, only the frequency distributions of T scores of the Inventory of Children’s Individual Differences–Short Version were statistically different for agreeableness personality trait between the 2 groups. There were no significant differences for all personality traits between participants grouped by age at amputation. Male participants scored lower than female participants on all 5 personality traits, but these differences were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The personality traits of children and adolescents with unilateral lower limb differences demonstrate small differences compared with the general population’s personality traits. Although treatment decisions for prosthetic care cannot be made based only on the patient’s personality traits, an appraisal of the patient’s personality may assist the patient’s and clinician’s decisions in developing a personalized rehabilitation treatment plan.