[Partner interactions and coping activity of migraine patients]

Empirical studies suggest that an inefficient, negative communication could represent a source of stress in the patient's everyday life and that this kind of communication would also imply chronic migraine. The present study used the "Kategoriensystem für partnerschaftliche Interaktion (KPI)" to determine whether the communication patterns of 12 women with migraine and their partners differed from 12 women with chronic headache and their partners and 12 healthy couples. The communication was video-filmed during the about 10 min lasting interaction in a personally relevant conflict situation. As predicted, women with migraine and their partners made more negative and fewer positive statements than the couples with tension headache and the control dyads. Furthermore, a higher load in female migraine sufferers compared to normal controls was indicated by coping activity.