Open AccessPsychological factors associated with primary fibromyalgia syndrome
Author(s) -
Ahles Tim A.,
Yunus Muhammad B.,
Riley Sue D.,
Bradley John M.,
Masi Alfonse T.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
arthritis & rheumatism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1529-0131
pISSN - 0004-3591
DOI - 10.1002/art.1780271004
Subject(s) - minnesota multiphasic personality inventory , fibromyalgia , rheumatoid arthritis , medicine , physical therapy , ambulatory , clinical psychology , personality , psychology , psychiatry , social psychology
Forty‐five ambulatory patients with primary fibromyalgia syndrome (PFS), 30 with rheumatoid arthritis, and 32 normal controls were administered 3 psychological tests: the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Life Events Inventory, and the Assertiveness‐Aggressiveness Inventory. The PFS patients scored significantly higher on 8 MMPI scales when compared with the normal control group and on 4 MMPI scales when compared with the rheumatoid arthritis group. Further subgrouping of PFS patients according to MMPI scores showed that only 31% were “psychologically disturbed,” 33% had a typical chronic pain profile, and 36% were within the normal range. The PFS patients scored higher than the rheumatoid arthritis and normal control groups on the Life Events Inventory but not the Assertiveness‐Aggressiveness Inventory.