Positive affect as a factor of resilience in the pain-negative affect relationship in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to examine positive affect (PA) as a factor of resilience in the relationships between pain and negative affect (NA) in a sample of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.


METHODS
Forty-three patients (30 women; mean age, 57 years) were interviewed weekly by telephone for 8 weeks. Multilevel modeling was applied to study the within-week relationships among the variables.


RESULTS
There was a Pain x PA interaction effect on NA (beta=-0.05, P<.01) indicating a weaker relationship between pain and NA in weeks with more PA. Pain (beta=0.37, P<.002), interpersonal stress (beta=2.42, P<.001), depression (beta=0.26, P<.01), average perceived stress (beta=10.80, P<.001), and also weekly PA (beta=-0.1, P<.01) had a main effect upon NA.


CONCLUSIONS
Positive affect is most influential in reducing NA during weeks of higher pain and may be a factor of resilience, helping patients experiencing pain fluctuations as less distressful than at lower levels of PA.
Strand
Elin B
EB
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Statistics, Institute of Basic Medical Science, University of Oslo, POB 1111 Blindern, N-0317 Oslo, Norway. e.b.strand@medisin.uio.no
Zautra
Alex J
AJ
Thoresen
Magne
M
Ødegård
Sigrid
S
Uhlig
Till
T
Finset
Arnstein
A
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires