Psychological Factors Associated With Fear of Falling Avoidance Behavior in Parkinson's Disease: The Role of Depression, Anxiety, and Catastrophizing.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between psychological factors (depression, anxiety, and catastrophizing) and fear of falling avoidance behavior (FFAB) among individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from 59 individuals with PD using hierarchical multiple regression.

Results: Disease severity (Movement Disorder Society - Unified PD Rating Scale) and catastrophizing (Consequences of Falling Questionnaire (CoF)) explained approximately 48.2% of the variance in the FFAB Questionnaire scores (P < .001). Catastrophizing was the only significant psychological variable (P < .001). The damage to identity subscale of the CoF was significant in the final model (P < .001).

Conclusions: Catastrophizing about the consequences of falls explained the largest portion of variability in FFAB after controlling for disease severity. Catastrophizing about the immediate consequences of falling may play a prominent role in FFAB and may be a potential treatment target for mitigating FFAB.