Resilience mediated the relationship between cognitive flexibility and psychological well-being among patients with irritable bowel syndrome, highlighting these as 'protective psychological resources that help patients manage stress and improve well-being in the context of IBS.'
Cognitive flexibility significantly predicted psychological well-being in IBS patients.
Resilience significantly predicted psychological well-being in IBS patients.
Resilience mediated the relationship between cognitive flexibility and psychological well-being in IBS patients.
IBS is characterized as a brain-gut interaction disorder with significant psychological impact.
The study population consisted of IBS patients referred to a single gastrointestinal health center in Iran.
This research suggests that among people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), two psychological traits — cognitive flexibility (the ability to think about problems in different ways and adapt one's thinking) and resilience (the ability to bounce back from stress and adversity) — are important for psychological well-being. Specifically, the study found that people with IBS who are more cognitively flexible tend to also be more resilient, and this resilience in turn is linked to better psychological well-being. In other words, resilience appears to act as a bridge, or mediating factor, between flexible thinking and feeling psychologically well. The study was conducted with 300 IBS patients at a hospital in Isfahan, Iran, in 2024. Participants completed questionnaires measuring their psychological well-being, cognitive flexibility, and resilience, and the data were analyzed using a statistical technique called structural equation modeling, which can test complex relationships among multiple variables simultaneously. This research suggests that psychological interventions targeting cognitive flexibility and resilience could be valuable for IBS patients beyond just treating physical symptoms. Because chronic stress is known to worsen IBS, helping patients develop stronger mental coping resources may support their overall well-being. However, since this was a cross-sectional study (a snapshot in time) using convenience sampling from one hospital, the findings should be interpreted with caution and would benefit from replication in larger, more diverse populations before drawing firm conclusions.
Tamannaeifar M, Shirani Z, Esmikhani M, Zaremohzzabieh Z. (2026). The mediating role of resilience in the relationship between cognitive flexibility and psychological well-being in patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a cross-sectional study.. BMC gastroenterology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12876-026-04654-3