Associations between parenting perceptions, attachment patterns, and alexithymia in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome

The present study aimed to investigate early childhood experiences, parenting perceptions, alexithymia, and attachment patterns in patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and to examine the relationships among these variables. The study sample consisted of 33 patients with FMS. The control groups included 30 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in clinical remission and 62 healthy individuals matched for age, education level, and gender ratio. Participants completed the Sociodemographic and Clinical Data Form, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Short Form-36, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire, and Young Parenting Inventory The anxiety, depression, and alexithymia scores of both FMS and RA groups were significantly higher compared to healthy controls. There was a significant impairment in eight subscales of the Short Form-36 in FMS-diagnosed patients compared with healthy subjects. The parenting subscale scores of the FMS group were statistically higher than those of the other two groups. There was no significant difference among groups in the scores of avoidance and anxiety attachment dimensions. Perceived parenting and attachment styles may play an important role in the etiology of fibromyalgia and illness behavior. These findings emphasize the need for a multidisciplinary approach to fibromyalgia as a psychosomatic phenomenon. Clinicians should give greater consideration to the psychological factors of the disease, and psychotherapeutic interventions may contribute to a better prognosis.