ORIGINAL PAPER
Beliefs about sharing illness experiences in chronic fatigue syndrome: the role of interpersonal trust and personality
 
More details
Hide details
1
University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
 
2
University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran
 
3
Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri, United States
 
 
Submission date: 2020-03-03
 
 
Final revision date: 2020-07-23
 
 
Acceptance date: 2020-08-23
 
 
Online publication date: 2020-09-28
 
 
Publication date: 2020-09-28
 
 
Health Psychology Report 2020;8(4):435-444
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
Disclosure of illness and illness experiences can be complicated for patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome due to the stigma associated with the illness. In this study, we evaluate the psychometric properties of the Beliefs about Sharing Illness Experiences (BASIE) scale in chronic fatigue patients. In addition, we inves-tigate whether interpersonal trust and personality characteristics predict self-disclosure in chronic fatigue pa-tients.

Participants and procedure:
The research was carried out in Rasht City, Iran. Participants were patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (N = 280) who were referred to Rasht pain management clinics in 2019. The psychometric properties of the BASIE scale were evaluated using content validity (CVI and CVR), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirma-tory factor analysis (CFA), and Cronbach’s α. In addition, Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression were used to test the roles of interpersonal trust and personality in predicting willingness to share illness experiences in chronic fatigue syndrome patients.

Results:
A CVI of .91 and CVR of .92 showed strong content validly for the BASIE scale. EFA and CFA supported a two-factor structure of the instrument. The Cronbach’s α of .94 confirmed strong reliability. Multiple regression anal-ysis revealed that positive beliefs about sharing illness experiences were predicted by higher interpersonal trust, higher extraversion, and lower neuroticism.

Conclusions:
The BASIE scale appears to be an appropriate tool for measuring chronic fatigue syndrome patients’ beliefs about sharing illness experiences. Also, interpersonal trust, extraversion, and neuroticism play important roles in sharing illness experiences. These findings may be helpful in the management of chronic fatigue syndrome and other stigmatized illnesses.

 
REFERENCES (50)
1.
Abbi, B., & Natelson, B. H. (2013). Is chronic fatigue syndrome the same illness as fibromyalgia: Evaluating the ‘single syndrome’ hypothesis. QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, 106, 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1093/qjmed/....
 
2.
Altman, I., & Taylor, D. A. (1973). Social penetration: The development of interpersonal relationships. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
 
3.
Borschuk, A., Everhart, R. S., Eakin, M. N., Rand-Giovannetti, D., Borrelli, B., & Riekert, K. A. (2016). Disease disclosure in individuals with cystic fibrosis: Association with psychosocial and health outcomes. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis, 15, 696–702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcf.....
 
4.
Bülow, P. H. (2003). Making sense of contested illness: Talk and narratives about chronic fatigue (Doc-toral dissertation). Linköping: Linköping University.
 
5.
Caci, B., Cardaci, M., & Miceli, S. (2019). Development and maintenance of self-disclosure on Face-book: The role of personality traits. SAGE Open, 9, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/215824....
 
6.
Carel, H., Blease, C., & Geraghty, K. (2017). Epistemic injustice in healthcare encounters: Evidence from chronic fatigue syndrome. Journal of Medical Ethics, 43, 549–557. https://doi.org/10.1136/medeth....
 
7.
Chaudoir, S. R., & Fisher, J. D. (2010). The disclosure processes model: understanding disclosure decision making and postdisclosure outcomes among people living with a concealable stigmatized identity. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 236–256. https://doi.org/10.1037/a00181....
 
8.
Chen, X., Pan, Y., & Guo, B. (2016). The influence of personality traits and social networks on the self-disclosure behavior of social network site users. Internet Research, 26, 566–586. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-0....
 
9.
Chen, W., Xie, X., Ping, F., & Wang, M. (2017). Personality differences in online and offline self-disclosure preference among adolescents: a person-oriented approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 105, 175–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid....
 
10.
Chun, K., & Campbell, J. B. (1974). Dimensionality of the Rotter Interpersonal Trust Scale. Psycholog-ical Reports, 35, 1059–1070. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.19....
 
11.
Corcoran, K. J. (1988). The relationship of interpersonal trust to self-disclosure when confidentiality is assured. The Journal of Psychology, 122, 193–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/002239....
 
12.
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.
 
13.
DasGupta, S., & Charon, R. (2004). Personal illness narratives: Using reflective writing to teach empa-thy. Academic Medicine, 79, 351–356. https://doi.org/10.1097/000018....
 
14.
Egan, V., Deary, I., & Austin, E. (2000). The NEO-FFI: Emerging British norms and an item-level anal-ysis suggest N, A, and C are more reliable than O and E. Personality and Individual Differences, 29, 907–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-....
 
15.
Gambetta, D. (1988) Can we trust trust? In D. Gambetta (Ed.), Trust: Making and breaking cooperative relations (pp. 213–237). New York: Blackwell.
 
16.
Geraghty, K., Jason, L., Sunnquist, M., Tuller, D., Blease, C., & Adeniji, C. (2019). The ‘cognitive be-havioural model’ of chronic fatigue syndrome: Critique of a flawed model. Health Psychology Open, 6, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/205510....
 
17.
Green, J., Romei, J., & Natelson, B. H. (1999). Stigma and chronic fatigue syndrome. Journal of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, 5, 63–75. https://doi.org/10.1300/J092v0....
 
18.
Hakimian, R. (2000). Disclosure of Huntington’s disease to family members: the dilemma of known but unknowing parties. Genetic Testing, 4, 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1089/109065....
 
19.
Haney, E., Smith, M. E., McDonagh, M., Pappas, M., Daeges, M., Wasson, N., & Nelson, H. D. (2015). Diagnostic methods for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review for a national institutes of health pathways to prevention workshop. Annals of Internal Medi-cine, 162, 834–840. https://doi.org/10.7326/M15-04....
 
20.
Hinson, K., & Sword, B. (2019). Illness narratives and Facebook: Living illness well. Humanities, 8, 106. https://doi.org/10.3390/h80201....
 
21.
Hossenbaccus, Z., & White, P. D. (2013). Views on the nature of chronic fatigue syndrome: Content analysis. JRSM Short Reports, 4, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1258/shorts....
 
22.
Jason, L., Witter, E., & Torres-Harding, S. (2003). Chronic fatigue syndrome, coping, optimism and social support. Journal of Mental Health, 12, 109–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/096382....
 
23.
Kaushansky, D., Cox, J., Dodson, C., McNeeley, M., Kumar, S., & Iverson, E. (2017). Living a secret: Disclosure among adolescents and young adults with chronic illnesses. Chronic Illness, 13, 49–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/174239....
 
24.
Koohikamali, M., Peak, D. A., & Prybutok, V. R. (2017). Beyond self-disclosure: Disclosure of infor-mation about others in social network sites. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 29–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.....
 
25.
Larzelere, R. E., & Huston, T. L. (1980). The Dyadic Trust Scale: Toward understanding interpersonal trust in close relationships. Journal of Marriage and Family, 42, 595–604. https://doi.org/10.2307/351903.
 
26.
Lawshe, C. H. (1975). A quantitative approach to content validity. Personnel Psychology, 28, 563–575. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744....
 
27.
Lin, W., Zhang, X., Song, H., & Omori, K. (2016). Health information seeking in the Web 2.0 age: Trust in social media, uncertainty reduction, and self-disclosure. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 289–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.....
 
28.
Lim, E., Ahn, Y., Jang, E., Lee, S., Lee, S., & Son, C. (2020). Systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). Journal of Trans-lational Medicine, 18, 100. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12967....
 
29.
Loiacono, E. T. (2015). Self-disclosure behavior on social networking web sites. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 19, 66–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/108644....
 
30.
Maltseva, K., & Lutz, C. (2018). A quantum of self: a study of self-quantification and self-disclosure. Computer in Human Behavior, 81, 102–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.....
 
31.
Morris, G., & Maes, M. (2013). Case definitions and diagnostic criteria for myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome: From clinical-consensus to evidence-based case definitions. Neuro Endocrinology Letters, 34, 185–199.
 
32.
Mueller, R. O. (1999). Basic principles of structural equation modeling: an introduction to LISREL and EQS. Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media.
 
33.
Omarzu, J. A. (2000). Disclosure decision model: Determining how and when individuals will self-disclose. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4, 174–185. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327....
 
34.
Rivera, J., Collado, A., Alegre, J., Blanch, J., Vidal, J., Arias, A., & Carbonel, J. (2013). Similarities between fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome: a single disease? Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 71, 272. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrhe....
 
35.
Robins, R. W., Fraley, R. C., Roberts, B. W., & Trzesniewski, K. H. (2001). A longitudinal study of personality change in young adulthood. Journal of Personality, 69, 617–640. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6....
 
36.
Rotter, J. B. (1967). A new scale for the measurement of interpersonal trust. Journal of Personality, 35, 651–665. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467....
 
37.
Sharpe, M. C., Archard, L. C., Banatvala, J. E., Borysiewicz, L. K., Clare, A. W., David, A., Ed-wards, R. H., Hawton, K. E., Lambert, H. P., & Lane, R. J. (1991). Chronic fatigue syndrome: Guidelines for research. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 84, 118–121.
 
38.
Smith, D., Schlaepfer, P., Major, K., Dyble, M., Page, A. E., Thompson, J., Chaudhary, N., Salali, G. D., Mace, R., Astete, L., Ngales, M., Vinicius, L., & Bamberg Migliano, A. (2017). Coop-eration and the evolution of hunter-gatherer storytelling. Nature Communications, 8, 1853. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467....
 
39.
Ssali, S., Atuyambe, L., Tumwine, C., Seguijja, E., Nekesa, N., Nannungi, A., Ryan, G., & Wagner, G. (2010). Reasons for disclosure of HIV status by people living with HIV/AIDS and in HIV care in Uganda: an exploratory study. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 24, 675–681. https://doi.org/10.1089/apc.20....
 
40.
Stahl, D. (2018). Imaging and imagining illness: Becoming whole in a broken body. Eugene, OR: Cas-cade Books.
 
41.
Steel, J. L. (1991). Interpersonal correlates of trust and self-disclosure. Psychological Reports, 68, 1319–1320. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.19....
 
42.
Stratton, E., Einboden, R., Ryan, R., Choi, I., Harvey, S. B., & Glozier, N. (2018). Deciding to disclose a mental health condition in male-dominated workplaces: a focus-group study. Frontiers in Psychia-try, 9, 684. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.....
 
43.
Taddei, S., & Contena, B. (2013). Privacy, trust and control: Which relationships with online self-disclosure? Computers in Human Behavior, 29, 821–826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.....
 
44.
Terman, J. M., Awsumb, J. M., Cotler, J., & Jason, L. A. (2018). Confirmatory factor analysis of a myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome stigma scale. Journal of Health Psy-chology, online ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910....
 
45.
Waltz, C. F., & Bausell, R. B. (1981). Nursing research: Design, statistics, and computer analysis. Phil-adelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Co.
 
46.
Wheeless, L. R., & Grotz, J. (1977). The measurement of trust and its relationship to self-disclosure. Human Communication Research, 3, 250–257. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468....
 
47.
Widiger, T. A. (Ed). (2017). The Oxford handbook of the Five‐Factor Model. New York: Oxford Univer-sity Press.
 
48.
World Medical Association (2013). World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical princi-ples for medical research involving human subjects. JAMA, 310, 2191–2194. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2....
 
49.
Wroe, A. L., & Bowers, H. M. (2019). Beliefs about sharing illness experiences: Development of a scale and relationship with symptoms of fibromyalgia. British Journal of Health Psychology, 24, 687–703. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.1....
 
50.
Ziebland, S., & Wyke, S. (2012). Health and illness in a connected world: How might sharing experi-ences on the internet affect people’s health? The Milbank Quarterly, 90, 219–249. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468....
 
Copyright: © Institute of Psychology, University of Gdansk This is an Open Access journal, all articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
eISSN:2353-5571
ISSN:2353-4184
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top