Helplessness and loss as mediators between pain and depressive symptoms in fibromyalgia.

TitleHelplessness and loss as mediators between pain and depressive symptoms in fibromyalgia.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2007
AuthorsPalomino RA, Nicassio PM, Greenberg MA, Medina EP
JournalPain
Volume129
Issue1-2
Pagination185-94
Date Published2007 May
ISSN1872-6623
KeywordsAdaptation, Psychological, Adult, Aged, Attitude, Depression, Disability Evaluation, Female, Fibromyalgia, Helplessness, Learned, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Models, Psychological, Pain, Pain Measurement, Psychology, Regression Analysis, Self-Assessment
Abstract

This study evaluated the contribution of condition-specific helplessness and loss to depression in fibromyalgia (FM). Two models were tested. The first model examined whether loss, measured by the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (WHYMPI) Interference Scale, would mediate the relationship between disability and depression. The second model determined whether condition-specific helplessness and loss would mediate the relationship between pain and depression with disability controlled. Eighty patients with confirmed diagnoses of FM were recruited throughout Southern California from general medical clinics, newspaper advertisements, and rheumatology practices. The study design was cross-sectional, using self-report, observational, and interview measures. A composite measure of depression was adopted, consisting of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted using a path analytic framework to examine each model. In Model 1, loss fully mediated the relationship between disability and depression. In Model 2, condition-specific helplessness mediated the relationship between pain and depression, but the contribution of loss was not significant. The findings confirm the importance of helplessness and demonstrate that the cognitive meaning of having FM plays a more central role in predicting depressive symptomatology than illness-related stressors, such as pain or disability.

DOI10.1016/j.pain.2006.12.026
Alternate JournalPain
PubMed ID17335975