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Impairment and coping in children and adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome: a comparative study with other
M Elena Garralda1, Luiza Rangel
1Academic Unit of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Imperial College, Faculty of Medicine, London, UK. e.garralda@imperial.ac.uk
Insights
Children with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) experience significant functional impairment, especially regarding school attendance. They exhibit higher illness-related worry and distinct coping strategies compared to other pediatric conditions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Chronic Illness
- Psychosomatic Medicine
Background:
- Functional impairment is a hallmark of childhood chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
- Understanding the specific challenges faced by children with CFS is crucial for effective management.
- Comparing CFS with other pediatric disorders provides valuable insights into its unique characteristics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare functional impairment, illness attitudes, and coping mechanisms in children with CFS against those with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and emotional disorders (ED).
- To identify specific features of CFS that distinguish it from other pediatric conditions.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving 28 children with CFS, 30 with JIA, and 27 with ED.
- Utilized interviews with children and parents, the Functional Disability Inventory (FDI), Illness Attitudes Scales (IAS), and Kidcope to assess impairment, attitudes, and coping styles.
Main Results:
- Children with CFS reported significantly greater illness impairment, particularly in school attendance, compared to JIA and ED groups.
- CFS participants displayed higher 'worry about illness' scores and identified school-related issues as primary concerns.
- CFS patients showed distinct coping patterns, including less problem-solving and more emotional regulation, resignation, and self-criticism for illness and disability.
Conclusions:
- Severe illness-related impairment, especially school non-attendance, and high illness-related school concerns are characteristic of childhood CFS.
- Generalized illness worry and specific coping styles appear to be distinguishing features of CFS in children.
- These findings highlight the need for tailored interventions addressing the unique psychosocial and functional challenges in pediatric CFS.
Background:
Functional impairment is a key feature of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) of childhood.
Aim:
To compare impairment, illness attitudes and coping mechanisms in childhood CFS and in other paediatric disorders.
Method:
Participants were 28 children and adolescents with CFS, 30 with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and 27 with emotional disorders (ED). The measures used were interviews with children and parents, with detailed enquiry on impairment, including the Functional Disability Inventory (FDI), Illness Attitudes Scales (IAS), and Kidcope to measure coping styles in relation to common problems, illness and disability.
Results:
Children with CFS reported significantly more illness impairment, especially in school attendance, than those with JIA and ED. They had higher 'worry about illness' scores on the IAS. On the Kidcope they named school issues (work, expectations, attendance) as illness- or disability-related problems more than the other two groups. Fewer CFS participants reported using problem solving as a strategy to cope with illness and disability than with other problems in their lives. More in the CFS than in the JIA group used emotional regulation to cope with illness and disability. Fewer in the CFS than in the ED groups used social withdrawal to cope with illness and self-criticism for disability, but more used resignation to cope with disability.
Conclusion:
Severe illness-related impairment, particularly through school non-attendance, and high levels of illness-related school concerns appear specific to CFS. CFS may also have characteristically high levels of generalised illness worry and particular styles of coping with illness and disability.
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