Perfectionism and Pain Intensity in Women with Fibromyalgia: Its Influence on Activity Avoidance from The Contextual Perspective.

Catala Patricia,Luque-Reca Octavio,Peñacoba Cecilia,Bedmar Dolores,Velasco Lilian,Blanco Sheila

doi:10.3390/ijerph17228442

Catala Patricia, Luque-Reca Octavio + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228442

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Abstract

Given the scarcity of studies regarding perfectionism from a contextual perspective, this study aims to analyze its role in the relationship between pain and activity avoidance and its differential effect among patients with different fibromyalgia severity. A cross-sectional study with 228 women with fibromyalgia classified into two disease severity groups (low/moderate vs. high) was carried out. Moderation analyses were conducted; perfectionism was used as moderator, pain (in high and low pain situations) as independent variable, and activity avoidance as the outcome. Among the high disease severity group, analyses showed direct contributions of perfectionism (p < 0.001) but not of pain (p > 0.05); moderation effects were found in high pain situations (p = 0.002) (for low levels of perfectionism, a positive association was found between pain intensity and avoidance). Among the low severity group, direct effects of perfectionism (p < 0.05) and pain intensity (p = 0.04) were found (although the latter only for high pain situations); moderation effects were found in high pain situations (p = 0.018) (for high levels of perfectionism a positive and significant association was found between pain intensity and avoidance). Perfectionism has been found to be a key variable in the differential relationship between pain intensity (in high pain situations) and activity avoidance in groups with high and low disease severity.

Highlights

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a complex syndrome characterized by frequent chronic musculoskeletal pain and widespread sensitivity, which is often accompanied by symptoms such as extreme fatigue [1], cognitive decline [2], sleep disturbances [3], and psychological and affective disorders [4], among others [5,6]
The results showed the moderation of perfectionism in the relationship between pain intensity and activity avoidance (Beta = −0.12, t = −3.19, p = 0.002, 95% CI −20, −0.05)
The present study aimed to explore the relationship between perfectionism and activity avoidance within the framework of the psychological flexibility model, taking into account two contextual variables—one general contextual variable, disease severity, and a specific contextual variable by taking into account high and low pain situations

Summary

Introduction

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a complex syndrome characterized by frequent chronic musculoskeletal pain and widespread sensitivity, which is often accompanied by symptoms such as extreme fatigue [1], cognitive decline [2], sleep disturbances [3], and psychological and affective disorders [4], among others [5,6]. These symptoms cause significant functional impairment [7] and higher levels of physical deterioration [8]. Both diagnostic criteria continue to coexist today, and previous literature has shown a good agreement between them for FM diagnosis [5,6,12]

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