Coping styles in people with chronic fatigue syndrome identified from the general population of Wichita, KS.
OBJECTIVE
Studies of primary and tertiary care patients suggest that maladaptive coping styles contribute to the pathogenesis and maintenance of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). We assessed coping styles in persons with unexplained fatigue and nonfatigued controls in a population-based study.


METHODS
We enrolled 43 subjects meeting the 1994 Research Case Definition of CFS, matching them with 61 subjects with chronic unexplained fatigue who did not meet criteria for CFS [we term them insufficient symptoms or fatigue (ISF)] and 60 non-ill (NI) controls. Coping styles and clinical features of CFS were assessed using standard rating scales.


RESULTS
Subjects with CFS and ISF reported significantly more escape-avoiding behavior than NI controls. There were no differences between the CFS and ISF subjects. Among participants with CFS, escape-avoiding behavior was associated with fatigue severity, pain, and disability.


CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrate significantly higher reporting of maladaptive coping in a population-based sample of people with CFS and other unexplained fatiguing illnesses defined by reproducible standardized clinical empirical means in comparison to NI controls.
Nater
Urs M
UM
Viral Exanthems and Herpesvirus Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Wagner
Dieter
D
Solomon
Laura
L
Jones
James F
JF
Unger
Elizabeth R
ER
Papanicolaou
Dimitris A
DA
Reeves
William C
WC
Heim
Christine
C
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004924:Escape Reaction; D015673:Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012016:Reference Values; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014922:Wisconsin