When It Hurts, a Positive Attitude May Help. The Moderating Effect of Positive Affect on the Relationship Between Walking, Depression, and Symptoms in Women with Fibromyalgia

Background: Increased exercise is a marker of health in fibromyalgia (FM). However, patients frequently avoid physical activity as a way of minimizing the pain they feel. This deprives them of opportunities to obtain positive reinforcement, increasing functional impact. Aims: This study examines the...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: ECIJA-GALLARDO, Carmen; CATALA, Patricia; Velasco, Lilian; Pastor-Mira, María Ángeles; Peñacoba, Cecilia
Tipo de documento: Artículo
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Repositorio:REDIUMH. Depósito Digital de la UMH
OAI Identifier:oai:dspace.umh.es:11000/33515
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11000/33515
Nivel de acceso:Acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Fibromyalgia
Positive affect
Walking
Chronic pain
Emotional symptoms
Women
CDU::1 - Filosofía y psicología::159.9 - Psicología
Descripción
Sumario:Background: Increased exercise is a marker of health in fibromyalgia (FM). However, patients frequently avoid physical activity as a way of minimizing the pain they feel. This deprives them of opportunities to obtain positive reinforcement, increasing functional impact. Aims: This study examines the mediating role of depressive symptoms between walking (as physical exercise), functional impact, and pain, at different levels of positive affect (PA) among women with fibromyalgia. Design: Cross-sectional correlational study. Settings: Mutual aid associations for fibromyalgia in Spain. Participants: 231 women diagnosed with FM. Methods: Moderate mediation analyses were conducted using PROCESS. Results: First, a simple mediation model showed that depression mediated the effect of walking on functional impact, but not on pain. Additionally, the moderated mediated model showed that this effect was significant at medium and high levels of PA, but not when levels of PA were low. Conclusions: Provision of resources focused on positive affect seem to increase the positive effects of walking on functional impact through the reduction of depressive symptoms. Nurses can improve adherence of patients with FM to walking behavior through increasing positive affect.