Spiritual well-being in individuals with fibromyalgia syndrome: Relationships with symptom pattern variability, uncertainty and psychosocial adaptation

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic illness affecting millions of people worldwide. FMS encompasses intermittent periods of exacerbations and remissions which lead to the uncertainties associated with the disorder. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among symptom pattern variability, uncertainty, spiritual well-being (SWB), and psychosocial adaptation in a sample of individuals diagnosed with FMS.; Fifty-eight individuals diagnosed with FMS were surveyed. The Fibromyalgia Symptom Pattern Questionnaire (FSPQ, the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scales-Community Form (MUIS-C), the Spiritual Well-being Scale (SWBS), and the Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self Report (PAIS-SR) were used to collect information related to the variables of the study.; The data supported three of the hypotheses, that there will be a positive relationship between symptom pattern variability and uncertainty in adults diagnosed with FMS; there will be a positive relationship between uncertainty and poor psychosocial adaptation in adults diagnosed with FMS; and SWB will moderate the relationship between uncertainty and psychosocial adaptation in a positive way. These data indicate that individuals with a positive sense of SWB will more positively adapt to the symptoms and uncertainties of FMS. Testing of the hypothesis that SWB will moderate the relationship between symptom pattern variability and uncertainty in a positive way was not supported as written. SWB actually was found to have a greater positive effect on the relationship between symptom pattern variability and uncertainty than had been hypothesized. Further research is needed to further validate these findings.