Is Thought Management a Resource for Functioning in Women with Fibromyalgia Irrespective of Pain Levels?

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to examine the relationship between cognitive factors (cognitive fusion and catastrophizing) and functional limitation experienced by fibromyalgia patients across different levels of pain severity (i.e. moderation). Methods The sample comprised 226 women with fibromyalgia. Their mean age was 56.91 years (SD = 8.94; range = 30 to 78 years). Results Pain severity, cognitive fusion, and all components of catastrophizing (i.e., rumination, magnification, and helplessness) contributed to greater fibromyalgia impact on functioning in the multivariate analyses (all p <.001). A moderation effect was also found in the relationship between cognitive fusion and fibromyalgia impact on functioning (B = -0.12, t = -2.42, p = .016, [-0.22, -0.02]) and between magnification and fibromyalgia impact (B = -0.37, t = -2.21, p = .028, [-0.70, -0.04]). This moderation was not observed for rumination and helplessness. Conclusions The results suggest that some maladaptive forms of thought management (i.e., cognitive fusion and magnification) should be preferably challenged at milder levels of pain severity when attempting to improve functioning in people with fibromyalgia. According to our findings, cognitive fusion and magnification might have less room to impact functioning at higher levels of pain severity, therefore, rumination and helplessness, which had comparable associations with functioning irrespective of pain levels, would be preferable targets in psychological interventions with fibromyalgia patients experiencing more severe pain levels.

The Role of Pain Catastrophizing and Pain Acceptance in Performance-Based and Self-Reported Physical Functioning in Individuals with Fibromyalgia and Obesity

“…Research has repeatedly shown that pain catastrophizing and pain acceptance are important predictors of self-reported physical functioning in samples with acute [ 104 , 105 ] and chronic pain [ 105 , 106 ], including FM [ 41 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 ]. Our findings are consistent with the previous evidence.…”

How to Generate Self-Efficacy despite Pain: The Role of Catastrophizing and Avoidance in Women with Fibromyalgia

“…Furthermore, based on previous research [10,21,22], where the impact of pain catastrophization on the perception of pain severity has been demonstrated, it could be hypothesized that pain avoidance could mediate the relationship between pain severity and self-efficacy, taking into account the moderating effect of pain catastrophizing on the relationship between pain severity and pain avoidance.…”

The Role of Walking in the Relationship between Catastrophizing and Fatigue in Women with Fibromyalgia

“…Specifically, our goal has been to test whether adherence to walking is an important contextual factor to be considered in the relationship between pain catastrophizing and fatigue. Based on previous studies [ 28 , 41 ], it would be expected that, in the worst-case scenario, that is to say when the contextual variables are especially limiting (i.e., when patients do not walk at all), individual status (i.e., fatigue) will be so unfavorable that there will be little room for pain catastrophizing to contribute to it. In contrast, when patients adhere to walking, we expect fatigue to be high if they walk while using biased interpretation (i.e., catastrophizing).…”