Background: Due to uncertainty regarding chronic pain in Fibromyalgia (FM) patients, there has been a growing interest in social comparison and its influence on emotional responses.Aims: to analyze profiles in FM patients according to pain perception, social comparison strategies and anxiety and depression.
Methods:The sample consisted of 131 FM outpatients (Mean age: 50.15, SD = 11.1). Two scales were used: the Social Comparison Illness Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.Results: Two profiles were found by cluster analysis (K-means method): one (66%) with a higher level of pain perception, anxiety and depression and greater use of upward contrast and downward identification social comparison; and another (34%) with lower levels of pain perception, anxiety and depression and greater use of upward identification and downward contrast.
Conclusion:These profiles underline the interest in social comparison strategies and their role in FM.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.