Evidence for a specific link between the personality trait of absorption and idiopathic environmental intolerance.
Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A January 1, 2008 Michael Witthöft, Fred Rist, Josef Bailer
People with idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI), formerly called multiple chemical sensitivity, report a stronger tendency to become deeply absorbed in sensory or mystical experiences—a personality trait called absorption—compared to people with other somatoform disorders or healthy controls. In a longitudinal study of 54 IEI subjects, 44 with somatoform disorder, and 54 controls, absorption scores were specifically elevated in the IEI group at both an initial assessment and 32 months later. Absorption may contribute to IEI by increasing susceptibility to IEI-specific beliefs and by enhancing classical conditioning of symptoms through vivid cognitive-imaginative representations of assumed triggers.