To compare a comprehensive behavioral intervention with an education/control condition in the treatment of patients with fibromyalgia (FM), and to explore the role of mediators of clinical improvement in both groups.
The effects of the behavioral and education/control interventions were evaluated across a 10 week treatment period and at 6 month followup on measures of pain, depression, disability, pain behaviors, and intervening variables. The behavioral intervention focused on the development of diverse pain coping skills, while the education/control condition presented information on a range of health related topic without emphasizing skill acquisition.
Although improvement across time was found in depression, self-reported pain behaviors, observed pain behaviors, and myalgia scores, no differences in these criteria were found between the behavioral and education/control conditions. Multiple regression analyses revealed that changes in helplessness and passive coping were associated with improvement in a number of clinical outcomes.
The findings illustrate the value of psychoeducational interventions in decreasing the psychological and behavioral effect of FM, and the value of reducing dysfunctional coping and helplessness in future intervention research.