Butler J A, Chalder T, Wessely S
Department of Psychological Medicine, Maudsley Hospital, London.
Psychol Med. 2001 Jan;31(1):97-105. doi: 10.1017/s0033291799003001.
Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) often make somatic attributions for their illness which has been associated with poor outcome. A tendency to make somatic attributions in general may be a vulnerability factor for the development of CFS.
This cross-sectional study based on self-report questionnaire data aimed to investigate the type of attributions for symptoms made by patients with CFS and to compare this to attributions made by their partners. It was hypothesized that patients with CFS would make more somatic attributions for their own symptoms than control subjects and that partners of patients with CFS would make more somatic attributions for their ill relative's symptoms but would be similar to controls regarding their own symptoms. Fifty patients with CFS were compared to 50 controls from a fracture clinic in the same hospital and 46 relatives living with the patients with CFS. A modified Symptom Interpretation Questionnaire was used to assess causal attributions.
CFS patients were more likely to make somatic attributions for their symptoms. The relatives of patients with CFS made significantly more somatic attributions for symptoms in their ill relative. However, they were like the fracture clinic controls in terms of making predominantly normalizing attributions for their own symptoms.
The data support modification of existing cognitive behavioural treatments for CFS to investigate whether addressing partners' attributions for patients' symptoms improves recovery in the patient. Furthermore, a tendency to make somatic attributions for symptoms may be a vulnerability factor for the development of CFS.
慢性疲劳综合征（CFS）患者常将自身疾病归因于躯体因素，这与不良预后相关。总体而言，倾向于进行躯体归因可能是CFS发病的一个易患因素。
这项横断面研究基于自我报告问卷数据，旨在调查CFS患者对症状的归因类型，并将其与患者伴侣的归因进行比较。研究假设，CFS患者对自身症状进行躯体归因的比例会高于对照组，且CFS患者的伴侣对其患病亲属的症状进行躯体归因的比例会更高，但在对自身症状的归因方面与对照组相似。将50例CFS患者与同一家医院骨折诊所的50名对照以及46名与CFS患者共同生活的亲属进行比较。使用一份经过修改的症状解释问卷来评估因果归因。
CFS患者更有可能将其症状归因于躯体因素。CFS患者的亲属对其患病亲属的症状进行躯体归因的比例显著更高。然而，在对自身症状主要进行正常化归因方面，他们与骨折诊所的对照组相似。
这些数据支持对现有的CFS认知行为治疗方法进行调整，以研究解决伴侣对患者症状的归因是否能改善患者的康复情况。此外，倾向于将症状归因于躯体因素可能是CFS发病的一个易患因素。
