Victimization and mental health indicators in women with fibromyalgia and other rheumatologic diseases

• Grant number: 11/16857-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Psychological Treatment and Prevention
• Principal Investigator: Maria de Jesus Dutra dos Reis
• Grantee: Mônica Fernanda Favoreto da Silva
• Host Institution: Centro de Educação e Ciências Humanas (CECH). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a noninflammatory rheumatic syndrome characterized by widespread and chronically musculoskeletal pain, diagnosed by clinical examination for the identification of painful sensitivity in 11 of 18 tender points. Sleeping disorders, depression and anxiety are some of the symptoms associated with the syndrome. Results seem to indicate that stressed patterns of family relationships, particularly the history of neglected and abused childhood, may contribute to the etiology and the maintenance of the pathology. Women suffering from fibromyalgia reported significantly more physical and sexual abuse when compared with women under treatment in other rheumatic diseases. This study aims to replicate some of these works by investigating the stress and different forms of victimization in 24 patients; 12 women will be diagnosed with FM and 12 women with other rheumatic diseases. All patients are going to participate in psychological intervention's groups, which lasted 12 sessions of 2 hours of duration each. Psychodiagnostic instruments of assessment will be presented at the beginning, during, and at the end of intervention and one month later, namely: the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Lipp Stress Inventory (LSSI), Adjustment Social Scale, and Inventories Coping Strategies and the WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL-26). The sessions will be registered by digital media and examined for identification of lifelong victimization, organized in five categories: emotional and abuse neglect, physical abuse, harassment and abuse sexual. Additional measures of effectiveness of interventions will also be examined. In the end, quantitative and qualitative comparisons will examine the differences between the two groups outlined. (AU)