Emotional competencies in multiple sclerosis

Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani; Robert W Motl; Laleh Sadeghi Bahmani; Omid Mirmosayyeb; Vahid Shaygannejad; Faezeh Mokhtari; James J Gross

doi:10.1016/j.msard.2023.104896

Emotional competencies in multiple sclerosis

Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2023 Oct:78:104896. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2023.104896. Epub 2023 Jul 17.

Authors

Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani¹, Robert W Motl², Laleh Sadeghi Bahmani³, Omid Mirmosayyeb⁴, Vahid Shaygannejad⁵, Faezeh Mokhtari⁶, James J Gross⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. Electronic address: bahmanid@stanford.edu.
² College of Applied Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago Il, USA.
³ Department of Education and Psychology, Shahid Ashrafi Esfahani University, Isfahan, Iran.
⁴ Department of Neurology, Jacobs Comprehensive MS Treatment and Research Center, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
⁵ Isfahan Neuroscies Research Center (INRC), Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. Electronic address: shaygannejad@med.mui.ac.ir.
⁶ Isfahan Neuroscies Research Center (INRC), Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
⁷ Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

PMID: 37595370
DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2023.104896

Abstract

Background: Emotional competencies (i.e., understanding emotions in self and others) are crucial for psychological well-being and successful social interaction. However, despite the deficits in psychological well-being and social interaction among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), emotional competencies have not been broadly investigated in MS. The present study: (1) compared emotional competencies between persons with MS and (a) previously published norms for the general population and (b) persons with major depressive disorder; and (2) investigated the association between emotional competencies and symptoms of insomnia, depression, fatigue, and paresthesia in persons with MS.

Methods: The sample of 1135 persons with MS (mean age: 34.6 years; 81.1% female; median EDSS: 2; range: 0 - 5) self-rated emotional competencies and symptoms of insomnia, symptoms of depression, fatigue, and paresthesia. Data on emotional competencies of historical samples (general population: N = 622; mean age: 22.0 years; 61% females; outpatients with major depressive disorders (MDD); N = 50; mean age: 42.46 years; 68% females) were used for comparison.

Results: Persons with MS reported lower levels of emotional competencies than both the general population (t (1, 1756) = 55.18, p < 0.001, d = 1.66; large effect size) and outpatients with MDD (t (1, 1183) = 3.48, p <0.001, d = 0.50; medium effect size). Among persons with MS, lower levels of emotional competencies were associated with higher MS-related symptoms of insomnia(r = - 0.24; p < 0.001), depression (r = - 0.42; p < 0.001), fatigue (r = - 0.31; p < 0.001), and paresthesia (r = - 0.18; p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Persons with MS reported significantly lower scores for emotional competencies when compared with the general population and outpatients with MDD. Further, lower scores for emotional competencies were associated with typical MS-related symptoms of insomnia, depression, fatigue and paresthesia. These findings suggest that emotional competencies may be an important target for intervention in persons with MS.

Keywords: Emotional competencies; Fatigue; Insomnia; Multiple sclerosis; Paresthesia; Symptoms of depression.