COPING STRATEGIES PREDICT DISABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY FIBROMYALGIA

We administered the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) to 80 patien ts with fibromyalgia (FM) to determine the relationship between coping strategies and functional disability A principal components factor an alysis revealed two dimensions of patients' CSQ responses: Coping Atte mpts and Catastrophizing. Coping Attempts consists of five scales: Rei nterpreting Pain, Ignoring Pain Sensations, Diverting Attention, Copin g Self-Statements and Increasing Activity Level. Catastrophizing is co mprised solely of the CSQ Catastrophizing scale. Both coping strategy dimensions were significantly related to patients' disability scores o n the Sickness Impact Profile even after controlling for demographic a nd clinical Variables as well as neuroticism. Coping Attempts was asso ciated with higher levels of Physical (P < 0.05) and Total Disability (P < 0.01), and lower levels of Psychosocial Disability (P < 0.05). Ca tastrophizing was associated with higher levels of Total Disability (P < 0.01). These relationships suggest that investigators should attemp t to identify Coping Attempts strategies that best reduce patients' ps ychological distress in the laboratory. It then may be possible to tea ch patients to use these strategies to reduce distress in their home a nd work environments.