Fibromyalgia: Evidence for Deficits in Positive Psychology Resources. A Case-Control Study from the Al-Ándalus Project, 2021, Arrayás-Grajera et al

[Andy]

Abstract

Positive psychology is the study of positive subjective experience and individual traits. Identifying deficits in positive psychology regarding fibromyalgia may inform targets for management. Therefore, the aim of the present case–control study was to compare the levels of positive affect, negative affect, satisfaction with life, optimism and emotional repair in a large sample of women with fibromyalgia (cases) and age-matched peers without fibromyalgia (controls).

This case–control study included 437 women with fibromyalgia (51.6 ± 7.1 years old) and 206 age-matched women without fibromyalgia (50.6 ± 7.2 years old). Participants self-reported their levels of (i) subjective well-being on the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule and the Satisfaction with Life Scale, (ii) dispositional optimism on the Life Orientation Test-Revised and (iii) emotional repair on the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. Women with fibromyalgia showed lower levels of positive affect, satisfaction with life, optimism and emotional repair and higher levels of negative affect. Large effect sizes were found for positive affect, negative affect and satisfaction with life (all, Cohen’s d ≥ 0.80) and small-to-moderate for emotional repair and optimism (both, Cohen’s d ≥ 0.50).

Women with fibromyalgia experience deficits of positive psychology resources. Thus, developing tailored therapies for fibromyalgia focusing on reducing deficits in positive psychology resources may be of clinical interest, though this remains to be corroborated in future research.

Open access, https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/22/12021/htm

 

[Trish]

Er, how about helping them with pain meds?

 

[Hutan]

Argh. One for the 'correlation does not equal causation' bucket. Seriously?

In the general population, higher optimism is related to better health

Emotional repair is the ability that people have to regulate their emotional states themselves [23], enhancing the positive states and minimising those which are negative. In people with chronic pain, higher emotional repair is associated with lower pain

Previous studies concluded that more favourable levels of positive and negative affect [9,10,11], satisfaction with life [50], emotional repair [51] and optimism [22] are associated with better adaptation to fibromyalgia (e.g., reduced pain [45], fatigue [52] and disease severity [44]). Therefore, they are considered resources of adaptation to fibromyalgia.

 

[alktipping]

do all these people live in some alternative reality to the rest of us .

 

[Hutan]

Manuel Javier Arrayás-Grajera 1
Inmaculada Tornero-Quiñones 3,4,*,
Blanca Gavilán-Carrera 5
Octavio Luque-Reca 6
Cecilia Peñacoba-Puente 6
Ángela Sierra-Robles 3,4,
Ana Carbonell-Baeza 7,8
Fernando Estévez-López 9

1. Department of Human Motor Skills and Sports Performance, Faculty of Education, University of Seville, 41013 Seville, Spain
2. Physical Activity, Promotion of Values and Education, HUM-954 Research Group, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
3. Department of Integrated Didactics, Faculty of Education, Psychology and Sports Science, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
4. Education, Motor Skills and Investigation Huelva Research (EMOTION), HUM643 Research Group, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, Spain
5. PA-HELP “Physical Activity for Health Promotion, CTS-1018” Research Group, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cádiz, Puerto Real, 11519 Cádiz, Spain
6. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Science, Rey Juan Carlos University, Alcorcon, 28922 Madrid, Spain
7. MOVE-IT Research Group and Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education Sciences, University of Cádiz, Puerto Real, 11519 Cádiz, Spain
8. Biomedical Research and Innovation Institute of Cádiz (INiBICA) Research Unit, Puerta del Mar University Hospital, 11009 Cádiz, Spain
9. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands

So.., not biased at all.

I hope at least one of the authors will read this thread. This is what I want to say to them:
I, like, I imagine most people with ME/CFS affected to a mild or even moderate level, generally enjoy my day - the meals, my garden, a chat or interaction with someone, finding something out here on the forum... I have hopes about the future. If someone asks me how I am, I will typically reply 'Fine, thanks'. But, if you ask me, in the context of researching ME/CFS, about how I feel or my expectations: I am going to think of how limited my life is; the enormously negative impact the illness has had on me and my son, and indeed my whole family; I am going to think about the times when I have PEM and pain; of how frustrating it is to have things I want to do and not be able to do them; and the many instances of stigma. And I'm going to want you to know about those things, so that you care, and so that you, and everyone who reads your research, are going to be motivated to do something about the disease and to help people like me.

It is so fundamentally wrong for you to take what someone reports about their life in response to your apparent professional interest and cast what they say as inaccurate whining, or suggest that their negative mindset has caused or worsened their physical symptoms. The people who took part in your research used some of their time to help you, and to help others with their illness - the time and effort it took them was their gift to you. You owe it to them to use the information they give you properly, and not let your bias (and perhaps misogeny) take free flight. Understand that your act of showing interest, and asking questions affects how people will report the impact of a disease on their life.

Part of the solution to the bias is to have a disease control, for example people with rheumatoid arthritis. But, even then, people with illnesses that are often classed as MUS are going to have particularly strong reasons to report that they are dissatisfied with their lives, both because of the stigma on top of the impacts directly caused by the disease, and also because the need for society's understanding to be improved is so much greater.

Really, this type of research that seeks to blame the person for their feelings and their disease needs to end.

 

[shak8]

Could it be, just a possibility, that people with FM who have more severe pain have a less positive outlook maybe?

That would be logical to assume. First comes the severe pain, exhaustion, cognitive problems, having to quit employment and all of this have sequelae (lack of positive attitude, etc.) due to the effect of symptoms on life circumstances, such as losing your income, your spouse, your roles, your identity, your ability to follow through on social plans, your ability to read, some emotional and personality stability, to count on your body, etc. etc.

The degree of magical inverse thinking of the 'research' would be incredible if it were not so ubiquitous.

 

[Trish]

Very well put, Hutan and shak8. I hope the authors read your comments. Along with learning the basic lesson that correlation does not imply causation. I wonder whether it would be worth writing to them.

 

[ola_cohn]

It so fundamentally wrong for you to take what someone reports about their life in response to your apparent professional interest and cast what they say as inaccurate whining, or suggest that their negative mindset has caused or worsened their physical symptoms. The people who took part in your research used some of their time to help you, and to help others with their illness - the time and effort it took them was their gift to you. You owe it to them to use the information they give you properly, and not let your bias (and perhaps misogeny) take free flight. Understand that your act of showing interest, and asking questions has an impact on how people will report the impact of a disease on their life.

This is so true. I can imagine being one of the research participants and then reading this study. I'd feel so betrayed and ill-treated. Those who try to make their careers off our suffering really owe us better than this.

 

[Ash]

I, like, I imagine most people with ME/CFS affected to a mild or even moderate level, generally enjoy my day - the meals, my garden, a chat or interaction with someone, finding something out here on the forum... I have hopes about the future. If someone asks me how I am, I will typically reply 'Fine, thanks'. But, if you ask me, in the context of researching ME/CFS, about how I feel or my expectations: I am going to think of how limited my life is; the enormously negative impact the illness has had on me and my son, and indeed my whole family; I am going to think about the times when I have PEM and pain; of how frustrating it is to have things I want to do and not be able to do them; and the many instances of stigma. And I'm going to want you to know about those things, so that you care, and so that you, and everyone who reads your research, are going to be motivated to do something about the disease and to help people like me.

It so fundamentally wrong for you to take what someone reports about their life in response to your apparent professional interest and cast what they say as inaccurate whining, or suggest that their negative mindset has caused or worsened their physical symptoms. The people who took part in your research used some of their time to help you, and to help others with their illness - the time and effort it took them was their gift to you. You owe it to them to use the information they give you properly, and not let your bias (and perhaps misogeny) take free flight. Understand that your act of showing interest, and asking questions has an impact on how people will report the impact of a disease on their life.

Part of the solution to the bias is to have a disease control, for example people with rheumatoid arthritis. But, even then, people with illnesses that are often classed as MUS are going to have a particularly strong incentive to report that they are dissatisfied with their lives, both because of the stigma on top of the impacts directly caused by the disease, and also because the need for society's understanding to be improved is so much greater.

YES.

Thanks @Hutan. I feel this. Hits personally particularly hard. It’s how I have been treated in “fatigue clinic” by the psychologist.