Perceived stigma in functional somatic syndromes and comparable medical conditions

Looper, KJ; Kirmayer, Laurence J.

doi:10.1016/s0022-3999(04)00447-7

Cited by 110 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(40 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Lehman, Lehman, Hemphill, Mandel and Cooper (2002) found that people with CFS who believed that their physician did not legitimize their illness had higher depression and anxiety scores than people who did not hold this belief. Looper and Kirmayer (2004) state that patients with functional syndromes such as CFS/ME often feel that their experience of being physically ill is not validated, and state that the higher levels of stigma in this group is likely to be the ambiguity regarding the cause of the condition. Perceived stigma is, unsurprisingly, related to measures such as depression and quality of life (Dancey, Hutton-Young, Moye, & Devins, 2002;Looper & Kirmayer, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Looper and Kirmayer (2004) state that patients with functional syndromes such as CFS/ME often feel that their experience of being physically ill is not validated, and state that the higher levels of stigma in this group is likely to be the ambiguity regarding the cause of the condition. Perceived stigma is, unsurprisingly, related to measures such as depression and quality of life (Dancey, Hutton-Young, Moye, & Devins, 2002;Looper & Kirmayer, 2004). Although physical symptoms themselves may contribute directly to reduced well-being, research from a wide variety of both acute and chronic illnesses show that much of the degradation in quality of life comes from the intrusiveness of an illness (Devins, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Symptoms, impairment and illness intrusiveness–their relationship with depression in women with CFS/ME

Dancey

Friend

2008

Psychology & Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) is an illness in which physiological and psychological factors are believed to interact to cause and maintain CFS/ME in an individual predisposed to it. The various symptoms and impairments associated with CFS/ME have a large impact on quality of life. The purpose of the present study was to identify the extent to which the core symptoms and impairments associated with CFS/ME relate to depression in women with CFS/ME, and to discover whether these relationships were mediated by illness intrusiveness. CFS/ME was found to be a highly intrusive illness, intruding into more life domains and to a greater degree than other illnesses. The effects of both symptoms and impairment on depression were, in part, mediated by illness intrusiveness. Although symptoms severity and impairment had both direct and indirect effects on depression, illness intrusiveness was the strongest predictor of depression.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symptoms, impairment and illness intrusiveness–their relationship with depression in women with CFS/ME

Dancey

Friend

2008

Psychology & Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The expression of psychological attributions raises the question of a possible contradiction between the emphasis on these issues and patients often described reluctance to address the psychological dimension of pain. Addressing this dimension may raise the fear of symptom psychologisation [51,52]. Psychological accounts of somatic symptoms can be perceived as referring to personal weaknesses and thus create a tension in the patienttherapist relationship because the therapist may assimilate narratives of psychological events to emotional disturbances.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary attributions in women suffering fibromyalgia emphasize the perception of a disruptive onset for a long-lasting pain problem

Cedraschi¹,

Girard²,

Luthy³

et al. 2013

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic musculoskeletal pain disorder characterized by widespread pain. This study focuses on patients' attributions of illness and of symptom onset. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 56 women to elicit patients' views on what triggered their FM. The transcripts of the interviews were analyzed using a classical indexing technique to identify key themes. Content analysis was performed by two independent coders. Results: Primary causal attributions fell into five categories: psychological problems (28 respondents); somatic concerns (N=12); violence/abuse during childhood (N=7), gynaecological/obstetrical problems (N=6), and fatigue (N=3). Patients' attributions were internal and external in the same proportions, more frequently unstable than stable, and more often described uncontrollable than controllable. Participants expressed decrements in self-esteem and feelings such as self-blame or despair; global perceptions of persistent pain and long-lasting problems, evoking chronicity and hopelessness; and low perceived control over their lives as well as beliefs that nothing can be done, thus increasing a feeling of guilt and vulnerability. Patients' narratives emphasized disruptive circumstances surrounding symptom onset. Conclusion: Attributions often referred to the psychological dimension of the events surrounding FM onset, even though some of them also had a clear somatic dimension. Many narratives mentioned successive disruptive events and suggested an increasing loss of control. Addressing these illness representations may contribute to tailor the treatment and to help patients gain self-coherency by providing means to understand pain onset but also to guide future behaviours, particularly in terms of adjustment and help-seeking.

show abstract

“…People with FM may attempt to avoid reporting highly on measures of emotional distress to prevent being stigmatized by a psychological diagnosis that may discredit their experience of pain. Looper and Kirmayer (2004) found that patients with FM do not report experiencing greater stigma than those diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Rather, both patient groups report greater stigma due to a diagnosis of co-morbid depression (Looper & Kirmayer, 2004).…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Looper and Kirmayer (2004) found that patients with FM do not report experiencing greater stigma than those diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Rather, both patient groups report greater stigma due to a diagnosis of co-morbid depression (Looper & Kirmayer, 2004). Despite possible concerns of stigmatization, it was hypothesized that self-reported scores of illness related distress, practical problems, and emotional problems would predict which participants would report believing they would benefit from counselling.…”

Section: Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 89%

Assessing openness to counselling referrrals and exploring patients' reports of who helps in the management of Fibromyalgia.

Egeli¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Perceived stigma in functional somatic syndromes and comparable medical conditions

Cited by 110 publications

References 37 publications

Symptoms, impairment and illness intrusiveness–their relationship with depression in women with CFS/ME

Symptoms, impairment and illness intrusiveness–their relationship with depression in women with CFS/ME

Primary attributions in women suffering fibromyalgia emphasize the perception of a disruptive onset for a long-lasting pain problem

Assessing openness to counselling referrrals and exploring patients' reports of who helps in the management of Fibromyalgia.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About