title: Illness behaviour of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.
abstract: The study examines the illness behaviour of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). The Illness Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ), the twenty-eight version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were administered to forty patients with a diagnosis of CFS. The results revealed that CFS patients in comparison with general practice patients, scored significantly higher on the IBQ sub-scales of General Hypochonriasis, t(188) = 5.2, p < 0.001 and Disease Conviction, t(188) = 13.28, p < 0.001 but lower on the Psychological/Somatic sub-scale, t(188) = -5.88, p < 0.001. The CFS and psychiatric patients did not differ significantly on the general hypochondriasis sub-scale. Results of the GHQ-28 revealed 66.7% of the CFS patients scored above the cut-off for psychiatric morbidity. In comparison to a previous study of CFS patients [1], the current findings indicate a significantly higher score on general hypochondriasis. The implications of these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schweitzer
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Whiting
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006998:Hypochondriasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011594:Psychometrics; D012803:Sick Role; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology