Wang MD. Personality traits and preoperative anxiety: Interpreting individual differences in pain perception. World J Psychiatry 2026; 16(10): 117272 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.117272]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ming-Da Wang, PhD, Researcher, Faculty of Education, National University of Malaysia, Jalan Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia. p121299@siswa.ukm.edu.my
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
review-article
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World J Psychiatry. Oct 19, 2026; 16(10): 117272 Published online Oct 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.117272
Personality traits and preoperative anxiety: Interpreting individual differences in pain perception
Ming-Da Wang
Ming-Da Wang, National Center for Health Professions Education Development, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100191, China
Ming-Da Wang, Graduate School of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Ming-Da Wang, Faculty of Education, National University of Malaysia, Selangor 43600, Malaysia
Author contributions: Wang MD contributed to this paper and was involved in interpretation and writing the article.
AI contribution statement: AI-assisted tools (e.g., ChatGPT) were used solely for language polishing and editing. The content, structure, and scientific arguments of the manuscript were developed by the authors. No part of the manuscript was fully generated by AI. AI tools were not involved in study design, data analysis, or interpretation of results. No figures or images were generated using AI.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author reports no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Ming-Da Wang, PhD, Researcher, Faculty of Education, National University of Malaysia, Jalan Bangi, Selangor 43600, Malaysia. p121299@siswa.ukm.edu.my
Received: December 3, 2025 Revised: December 17, 2025 Accepted: January 30, 2026 Published online: October 19, 2026 Processing time: 311 Days and 13.6 Hours
Abstract
Preoperative anxiety is often described as a temporary response to surgical stress, but this does not account for the variation in anxiety and pain among patients undergoing similar surgical procedures. Preoperative anxiety is proposed to be a trait-based cognitive appraisal process in the review. Personality traits affect patients’ perception of the threat of surgery, emotion regulation and attention to bodily signals. Emotional stability is related to threat sensitivity and emotional reactivity, whereas conscientiousness is related to vigilance and monitoring. These processes influence anxiety and pain through partly independent pathways. The overlap between state and trait anxiety, self-report measures and cross-sectional designs limit current research. This review proposes a trait-based framework integrating personality, cognition, and physiological stress responses and supporting more individualised perioperative assessment and intervention.
Core Tip: Preoperative anxiety is not simply a situational response to the surgery. It reflects stable differences in how patients process threat, regulate emotion and monitor bodily signals. This review proposes a trait-based framework to explain the differences in anxiety and pain across patients. It suggests psychological calibration as a means to customise communication and intervention to the individual patient profile. This view promotes more individualised screening and perioperative care.
