Personality, Defense Mechanisms and Psychological Distress in Women with Fibromyalgia

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have shown that many personality traits are associated with fibromyalgia (FM), worsening both the quality of life and psychological distress of patients. Despite the high comorbidity of psychopathological disorders in this syndrome and their association with immature defense styles, few studies have examined the defense mechanisms used by FM patients. The main aim of our study was to investigate personality traits and defense mechanisms in FM patients compared to in a healthy control group (HC). Moreover, we investigated the effect of personality traits and defense mechanisms on psychological distress in both FM and HC groups. Methods: A total of 54 women with FM and 54 healthy women completed the (1) Temperament and Character Inventory—Revised; (2) the Toronto Alexithymia Scale; (3) the Defense Style Questionnaire; and (4) the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results: The results indicated that FM patients display higher alexithymia, higher harm avoidance, lower self-directedness, lower persistence, and the higher use of a maladaptive defense style compared to HC. We found that alexithymia, harm avoidance, and maladaptive defense style are significant predictors of patients’ psychological distress. Moreover, harm avoidance and adaptive defense style significantly predicted psychological distress in the HC group. Conclusion: The present study is the first to explore the contribution of both defense mechanisms and personality characteristics on the psychological distress of FM patients. Our findings have important clinical implications and may help diagnose and treat FM patients more in depth.

Quality of Life and Mental Distress in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…These explanations of defense mechanisms as automatic processes that reduce and mitigate the harmful effects of pain by regulating the emotional response of individuals were given by Valliant in describing adaptive mental mechanisms [ 63 ]. Similar results were confirmed in patients with fibromyalgia, who developed significantly stronger defense mechanisms compared to healthy individuals [ 64 ]. However, an interesting result is that the area of physical limitation and functioning was significantly negatively associated with the estimated pain intensity.…”

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental and physical wellbeing in women with fibromyalgia: a longitudinal mixed-methods study

“…Past studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between trauma, dissociation, and FM symptomatology [8,9]. In addition, early traumatic experiences seems to be a risk factors for developing widespread pain in adulthood including FM symptoms by excessively activating stress responses during a critical period of development through hyperalgesic priming [10].Hence, FM patients may be particularly vulnerable to pandemicrelated increase of depression and anxiety and possibly worsening of their clinical pain [11][12][13]. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic upended everyday life, many online surveys demonstrated that negative affect also increased among the general population [14,15].…”

Personality, Intervention and Psychological Treatment: Untangling and Explaining New Horizons and Perspectives

“…These studies address theoretical and practical advances on personality in different populations and age groups, as well as the research findings of interventions and treatment strategies involving personality. Of the seven original research articles and one scoping review on personality included in this Special Issue, three are focused on healthy adult populations [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], two in healthy children and adolescent [ 4 , 5 ], other two in chronic pain conditions (migraine [ 6 ] and fibromyalgia [ 7 ]) and one in personality disorders (cluster B and C [ 8 ]). The variety of conditions, populations, personality traits and research methods used in the included studies makes difficult a direct comparison of the findings but provide a wider approach to personality, intervention, and psychological treatment.…”

“…The study of Romeo et al [ 7 ] is characterized by its novelty in exploring the contribution of both defense mechanisms and personality characteristics on the psychological distress of fibromyalgia patients. Associations between personality traits (alexithymia, harm avoidance, cooperativeness, persistence), defense mechanisms (adaptive and maladaptive defense style, image-distorting, and self-sacrificing) and psychological distress (anxiety and depression) in fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls were explored.…”

“…Second, individual differences on personality traits such as neuroticism and related factors such as intolerance to uncertainty and negative autofocus should be taken into consideration when designing prevention programs aiming to dampen the psychological impact of any sudden and unforeseen change in anyone’s life [ 2 ]. Third, and specially with respect to fibromyalgia, the patient’s individual personality and defense style evaluation is essential for a correct psychological diagnosis and treatment as well as to enhance mental health in fibromyalgia patients [ 7 ]. Fourth, the management of negative emotions related to high neuroticism are suggested to be essential for future intervention programs directed to migraine patients [ 6 ].…”