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Chronic fatigue syndrome: Assessing symptoms and activity level
Author(s) -
Jason Leonard A.,
King Caroline P.,
Frankenberry Erin L.,
Jordan Karen M.,
Tryon Warren W.,
Rademaker Fred,
Huang ChengFang
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199904)55:4<411::aid-jclp6>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - chronic fatigue syndrome , psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry
Abstract Current approaches to the diagnosis and assessment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) rely primarily on scales that measure only the occurrence of various symptoms related to CFS. Such approaches do not provide information on either the severity of symptoms or on fluctuations in symptom severity and activity level that occur over time. As a result, these measures do not reflect the complexities and the interrelations among symptoms. By obscuring the fluctuating nature of CFS and its high variability, current assessment procedures may prevent health care professionals from understanding the complexities of this disease. The present study provides two CFS case studies to illustrate the advantages of using self‐reporting rating scales in combination with a device used to measure the frequency and intensity of activity. The implications of this assessment system, which captures the symptom dynamics and variability involved in CFS, are discussed. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 55: 411–424, 1999.