WAYS OF COPING WITH CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME - DEVELOPMENT OF AN ILLNESS MANAGEMENT QUESTIONNAIRE

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disorder of uncertain aetiology, a nd there is uncertainty also about the appropriate way in which patien ts should manage the illness. An illness management questionnaire (IMQ ) was designed to assess coping in CFS. This was completed by 207 pati ents, in parallel with the COPE scales (a general measure of coping th at can be applied situationally). and measures of functional impairmen t, anxiety and depression. The IMQ yielded four factors: maintaining a ctivity, accommodating to the illness, focusing on symptoms and inform ation-seeking. Scales based upon these factors together predicted 26, 27 and 22% of the variance in functional impairment, anxiety and depre ssion, respectively, and each scale had significant relationships with relevant scales of the COPE, supporting the interpretation of the fac tors. It is suggested that the IMQ may be employed to relate ways of c oping to outcomes in CFS, and to assess coping as a mediator of change in cognitive-behavioural interventions.