title: Illness self-schemas in depressed and nondepressed rheumatoid arthritis patients.
abstract: This study examined the hypothesized illness self-schemas construct in persons with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Biases in self-description, information processing, and schema-consistent illness behavior were examined in depressed and nondepressed persons with RA and compared with those of depressed and nondepressed controls. Major findings revealed that RA-depressed subjects exhibited pervasively negative self-description and biased processing of negative illness-related information. RA-nondepressed subjects demonstrated a bias for positive self-description and enhanced processing of positive illness-related information. Using regression analysis, the illness self-schema construct predicted unique variance in self-reported functional disability. Findings are reviewed in the context of previous research on self-schemas, chronic pain, and cognitive variables in chronic illness. Potential clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed. The illness self-schema construct has significant heuristic value which could guide further research on the psychosocial adjustment of individuals with chronic illnesses.
authors.affiliation: California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Clemmey
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Nicassio
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019336:Cognitive Science; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012649:Self Concept