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Implicit processing of symptom and illness-related information in CFS: a systematic review abstract

Dolphin

Senior Member
Messages
17,567
(I'm not a fan of these views but it can be useful to know what is being said)

http://www.ehps2015.org/files/EHPS2015_Conference_Abstracts_27082015.pdf

29th Conference of the European Health Psychology Society

Oral Presentation Abstracts

Implicit processing of symptom and illness-related information in chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review

A. Hughes1
C. Hirsch 1
T. Chalder 1
R. Moss-Morris 1

1 King's College London, United Kingdom

Background

Cognitive behavioural models propose that the way in which people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
(CFS) process information, specifically how they attend to and interpret illness related information,
may play an important role in symptom maintenance. This systematic review investigates whether
people with CFS have implicit biases in how they process information.

Methods
Electronic databases were searched using CFS and experimental methodology search terms. Twelve
studies measured attention and interpretative bias for illness related information in CFS.

Findings
The evidence for implicit biases was dependant on the methodology employed as well as the type and
duration of the stimuli presented. There was preliminary evidence to suggest that people with CFS
have illness related top down processing biases which affects how information is interpreted and
attended to.

Discussion
A clinical implication of these findings is that such processing biases may maintain negative illness
beliefs and symptoms in people with CFS. This review highlights methodological issues in
experimental design and makes recommendations for future research to forge a consistent approach
in implicit processing research.
 

worldbackwards

Senior Member
Messages
2,051
I wonder if they'll do a similar study concerning their own biases towards interpreting symptoms and how that relates to the maintenance of their own fallacious beliefs about specific illnesses, known to them as "Functional Somatic Syndromes".

Perhaps they saved that for another day, eh?
 

Effi

Senior Member
Messages
1,496
Location
Europe
study said:
There was preliminary evidence to suggest that people with CFS have illness related top down processing biases which affects how information is interpreted and attended to.
'Preliminary evidence' sounds so extremely cautious that it's almost like there was no evidence, but they didn't want to give up on their theory that says:
study said:
that such processing biases may maintain negative illness beliefs and symptoms in people with CFS.
:meh:
 
Messages
3,263
Wow, it doesn't take much to get accepted into this conference. These guys just looked at a few previous studies, and they didn't even need to provide any specific findings or conclusions - and hey presto - they get a platform presentation!

I agree @Effi, 'preliminary evidence' sounds like no convincing findings.