Attributional style and illness behaviour in chronic fatigue syndrome

An increasing number of cases of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are being seen in medical practices. However, many controversies still surround the diagnosis, treatment and aetiology of the condition. CFS appears to share features of both depressive disorders and chronic physical illnesses. This study compared a group of CFS patients with depressives and chronically physically ill patients on measures of depression, illness behaviour and attributional style. The CFS patients were found to be more similar to depressives on measures of depression and illness behaviour, but more like chronically physically ill patients on attributional style. Implications of the findings are examined.