Psychological Inflexibility and distress in females with fibromyalgia, cancer and healthy controls

Psychological inflexibility (PI) has emerged as an important process in understanding adjustment to different medical conditions. The objective of this study was to explore whether the effects of PI on psychological distress is moderated by the clinical condition and healthy status. Participants were 257 females (mean age = 42.8 years; SD = 14.5): 91 patients with fibromyalgia, 71 with cancer, and 95 healthy females. Each group was split off on two subgroups (high and low PI) according to scores on the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II. Participants also completed measures of anxiety and depression. Between-groups differences on depression and anxiety were explored by means of ANCOVA. The effects of the interaction between the health condition and PI factors were not statistically significant. The results showed a significant main effect of PI on both anxiety and depression scores. Women with high levels of PI showed higher levels of anxiety and depression than women with low PI. The results also showed a significant effect of the health condition on depression, with patients with fibromyalgia yielding higher levels of depression than the other groups. Findings in this study support PI as a general risk factor for a poorer emotional adjustment, regardless of the clinical condition or healthy status. The findings also suggest that depression in females with fibromyalgia may be related to other processes or characteristics that are specific for this group of patients.