Fibromyalgia, perfectionism, and interpersonal style. Further evidence for a person-centered approach

Objectives. We carried out a controlled, cross-sectional investigation in patients with Fibromyalgia (FM) to determine the presence of perfectionism and three interpersonal styles, namely ‘subjugation’, ‘approval-seeking’, and ‘self-sacrifice’. Method. Several validated self-report questionnaires were filled-in by 100 female FM patients and 36 women with rheumatoid arthritis as a control group. Results. We found significantly higher scores in the FM group for all perfectionism subscales, except for the subscale ‘organization’. Moreover, FM patients scored higher for the three interpersonal styles. Conclusions. Our results support our clinical observations suggesting that maladaptive perfectionism as well as excessive other-directed interpersonal styles may be highly prevalent in patients with FM. These results add to growing evidence that a personalized, biopsychosocially oriented approach taking these factors into account may be a useful addition to standard therapy. However, the effectiveness of additional psychotherapy for FM should be further investigated.