A structure of self-conceptions and illness conceptions in rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

In 2 independent samples of RA patients, a large pool of self-reported illness experiences were statistically examined for content and structure of common types of self-conceptions and illness conceptions related to living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Multivariate analyses revealed 7 primary fact...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of psychosomatic research 1996-05, Vol.40 (5), p.535-549
Main Authors: Persson, Lars-Olof, Berglund, Kaare, Sahlberg, Dick
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of Daily Living
Activities of Daily Living - psychology
Adaptation
Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Aged
Arthritis
Arthritis, Rheumatoid - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Defense Mechanisms
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Illness and personality
Illness behavior
Illness, stress and coping
Male
Middle Aged
Mood
Nursing
Omvårdnad
Personality
Personality Inventory
Psychological
psychology
Psychology and medicine
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Rheumatoid
Rheumatoid arthritis
Self Concept
Sick Role
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Summary:In 2 independent samples of RA patients, a large pool of self-reported illness experiences were statistically examined for content and structure of common types of self-conceptions and illness conceptions related to living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Multivariate analyses revealed 7 primary factors in both samples. Three constituted a positive continuum ( fighting spirit, acceptance, revaluation), and 3 a negative ( deprivation of life values, protest, reserved). The 7th factor ( denial) was weaker and conceptually intermediate. The obtained factors contained many items similar to those in other established psychological instruments used in research on RA, but showed stronger relations to subjective well-being (mood) than any one of these. Disease indicators correlated only weakly with RA self-conceptions (RASC) and mood. The RASC factors appear to more broadly reflect different facets of positive and negative ways of individual experience of living with RA than other published instruments. They were tentatively interpreted as RA-specific expressions of dispositions towards positive and negative affect, respectively.
ISSN:0022-3999
1879-1360
DOI:10.1016/0022-3999(95)00618-4