An international study of irritable bowel syndrome: Family relationships and mind-body attributions
06/04/06 12:28 PM
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Heather
Reged: 12/09/02
Posts: 7799
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Social Science & Medicine 62 (2006) 2838–2847
An international study of irritable bowel syndrome: Family
relationships and mind-body attributions
Mary-Joan Gersona,, Charles D. Gerson, Richard A. Awad, Christine Dancey, Pierre Poitrase, Piero Porcellif, Ami D. Sperberg
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal illness, characterized by potentially debilitating symptoms without pathologic findings, often associated with psychological conditions. Little is known about the psychosocial aspects of this condition on an international scale. A total of 239 patients in eight countries were given a series of psychological and medical questionnaires, including IBS activity, relationships with significant others, beliefs regarding the etiology of symptoms, and assessment of quality of life. There were highly significant associations between IBS severity and all other measures. Symptoms were worse if relationship conflict was high and if attributions about illness were physiological rather than psychological. Symptoms were less severe if relationship depth and support were high, and illness was viewed as psychological. Implications for treatment are discussed.
r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Full study is available in PDF format. Mind Body Survey
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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