Positive and negative affect in rheumatoid arthritis: Increased specificity in the assessment of emotional adjustment

Because most patients with chronic medical illness do not suffer from diagnosable depressive conditions, models of normal emotional functioning might be useful in assessing the emotional consequences of physical illness. In this study of 72 male and female patients with rheumatoid arthritis, we examined the Watson and Tellegen (1985) two-dimensional model in this regard. Depression scores were associated, independently, with both positive and negative affect. Pain, daily hassles, and cognitive distortion were associated with depression and negative affect but not with positive affect. Positive daily events were associated with positive affect but not negative affect. This suggests that the routine use of measures of depression in studies of emotional adjustment in chronic medical illness can lead to a loss of more specific information, especially as it concerns positive emotionality.