# Social Science & Medicine: Family relationships and mind-body attributions



## Jeffrey Roberts (Apr 15, 1987)

Social Science & Medicine 62 (2006) 2838â€"2847An international study of irritable bowel syndrome: Family relationships and mind-body attributionsMary-Joan Gerson, Charles D. Gerson, Richard A. Awad, Christine Dancey,Pierre Poitras, Piero Porcelli, Ami D. SperberAbstractIrritable 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 signi.cant others, beliefs regarding the etiology of symptoms, and assessment of quality of life. There were highly signficant 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.Full article:http://www.ibsgroup.org/other/mindbodyarticle.pdf(By permission of author)


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