[Fibromyalgia and facial expression]

Abstract

Question: Do female inpatients with fibromyalgia (FM) differ from healthy women in their nonverbal affective behavior?

Methods: The data culled from 15 interviews with female FM inpatients and 15 interviews with healthy women were analyzed and the analyses of facial expression were subsequently correlated with gaze behavior.

Results: FM patients exhibited neither a reduction of total activity of facial expression nor of absolute frequency of primary affects in comparison to healthy subjects who did (also in eye contact) however exhibit a significantly higher proportion of "genuine joy" and lower proportion of "contempt."

Conclusion: The absence of reduced total activity of facial expression is in contrast to the elaborate descriptions of symptoms provided by the patients, but detailed analyses show that elements which stabilize relationships are lacking and that dissociative elements are implanted in the interactions.