The Utility of the Implicit Association Test in the Measurement of Pain and Self-schema Enmeshment in Fibromyalgia Patients

Steiner, Jennifer Leah. M.S., Purdue University, August 2010. The Utility of the Implicit Association Test in the Measurement of Pain and Self-schema Enmeshment in Fibromyalgia Patients. Major Professor: Silvia M. Bigatti. Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is a chronic, painful rheumatic condition characterized by recurrent musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and nonrestorative sleep, for which there is currently no biological marker. People who suffer from fibromyalgia are extremely susceptible to the effects of psychological stressors which may in turn exacerbate the symptoms of the disease. As unrelenting pain is the main symptom of fibromyalgia, it follows that patients would experience personal losses and changes in their self-schemas or the way in which they view themselves as a result. This study was particularly focused on identifying the enmeshment of self-schemas and pain-schemas, and the extent to which women with fibromyalgia experience pain and self-schema enmeshment (PSSE). Additionally, this study sought to determine the utility of using the Implicit Association Test as a measure of PSSE. The present study compared FMS patients to a group of diabetes patients on several measures of schema enmeshment, including the IAT. It was hypothesized that the two disease groups would differ significantly on the level of PSSE indicated by the IAT, and the two disease