Normalizing attributions may contribute to non-help-seeking behavior in people with fibromyalgia syndrome.

BACKGROUND

Causal attributions of bodily perceptions indicate the possibility of some degree of control over events. Therefore, attributions are important to support the social significance of experience and confer meaning.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to investigate whether non-patients with fibromyalgia (FMS) use more normalizing attributions than healthy control subjects and help-seeking patients.

METHOD

Thirty-seven FMS patients attending tertiary care were compared with 38 non-patients and 34 healthy controls on mean anxiety, depression, attribution style, and alexithymia scores.

RESULTS

Mean normalizing scores were greatest in the non-patient group, followed by the healthy-control group, and smallest in the tertiary-care attending group. Non-patients are using more normalizing explanations than the FMS patients and the healthy-control subjects.

CONCLUSION

Thus, normalization may negatively influence help-seeking behavior and contribute to non-help-seeking behavior.