Depressive Symptoms and Quality of Life in a Sample of Italian Women with a Diagnosis of Fibromyalgia: The Role of Attachment Styles

Abstract

Background. Women with fibromyalgia (FM) commonly suffer from depression, pervasive fatigue, and pain. The attachment style has been hypothesized to be an important factor for understanding the experience of these symptoms. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study is aimed at investigating the effect of attachment styles in women with a diagnosis of FM on depressive symptoms and quality of life. Method. Participants were 453 Italian women with a physician’s diagnosis of FM with a mean age of 47 years ( SD = 10.9 ). To assess attachment styles, quality of life, and depressive symptoms, women responded, respectively, to the Relationship Questionnaire, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire, and the Beck Depression Inventory II. Results. Our results showed that the incidence of depressive symptoms was elevated, with 59% of women reporting moderate to severe symptoms. Also, the statistical analyses showed that both preoccupied and avoidant/dismissing attachments were related with depression symptoms and low perception of QoL. Conclusions. Our study demonstrates that, when evaluating the impact of FM on the QoL of women, it is important to consider the complexity of the variables that are at play. Insecure attachment styles and depressive symptoms seem to increase the likelihood of the psycho-social-somatic malaise in FM women.

Social cognition and attachment profiles of women with fibromyalgia syndrome: a case-control study

“…Such interventions can also be adapted to FM patients with insecure attachment and may help to diminish difficulties in pain perception, perception of illness and seeking social support [27]. Moreover, such psychotherapeutic interventions may also help to overcome depressive symptoms in FM patients, which has been found to be closely related with insecure attachment in this patient group [28]. In this regard Sechi et.…”

Psychometric properties and validation of the polish version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ-Pol)

“…The analysis was performed by examining the Pearson correlation coefficient (when both distributions were normal) or Spearman's test (when at least one distribution was not normal). It has been confirmed that the stronger the depressive symptoms, the greater the impact of fibromyalgia on the quality of life [ 26 – 28 ].…”

Insecure Attachment, Oxytocinergic System and C Tactile Fibers: An Integrative and Translational Pathophysiological Model of Fibromyalgia and Central Sensitization Syndromes

“…Rather, it has been hypothesized that IA represents an important predisposing factor to alexithymia which, conversely, has been found to be a predictive personality trait of FMS [66,67]. Regardless, the presence of IA represents an important predictor of lower quality of life in patients with FMS and this effect appears to be mediated by low self-esteem [68] and depressive symtpoms [69]. In other words, the presence of IA (dismissive, preoccupied and fearful), could be responsible for a greater biopsychosocial impact and a higher disease burden in female patients with FMS [68,69].…”