Ethnicity and Fatigue: Expressions of Distress, Causal Attributions and Coping
Kamaldeep S Bhui, Sokratis Dinos, Marie-Laure Morelli
DOI: 10.4236/sm.2011.14020   PDF    HTML     4,834 Downloads   9,109 Views   Citations

Abstract

This paper reports on an MRC funded study of chronic fatigue and ethnicity. The purpose of the qualitative component was to compare expressions of fatigue, illness attribution, coping styles and help seeking behaviour across ethnic groups. The study used secondary analysis of qualitative data that were collected as part of the Ethnic Minority Psychiatric Illness Rates in the Community (EMPIRIC) study. The charts of the qualitative data used in the original study and the original transcripts were used to identify reports of fatigue and related symptoms that included feeling tired, exhausted, shattered, lack of energy, lack of sleep, insomnia and impaired concentration. We described symptoms by ethnic group, and examined whether ethnicity influenced illness attributions, coping strategies and help seeking behaviour. Fatigue related symptoms were common and encountered in all the ethnic groups studied, and descriptions of fatigue, illness attribution and help seeking, on the whole, did not vary between ethnic groups. The paper sets out the subtle differences between ethnic groups, and considers the use of secondary qualitative data analysis in research. Fatigue was more common among women; coping included self-help, and seeking help from social and counselling services. Religion was used as a coping mechanism mainly amongst the Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi ethnic groups.

Share and Cite:

Bhui, K. , Dinos, S. & Morelli, M. (2011). Ethnicity and Fatigue: Expressions of Distress, Causal Attributions and Coping. Sociology Mind, 1, 156-163. doi: 10.4236/sm.2011.14020.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Addington, A. M., Gallo, J. J., Ford, D. E., & Eaton, W. W. (2001) Epidemiology of unexplained fatigue and major depression in the community: The baltimore ECA follow-up, 1981-1994. Psychological Medicine, 31, 1037-1044. doi:10.1017/S0033291701004214
[2] Bardwell, W. A., Burke, S. C., Thomas, K. S., Carter, C., Weingart, K., & Dimsdale, J. E. (2006) Fatigue varies by social class in African Americans but not Caucasian Americans. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 13, 252-258. doi:10.1207/s15327558ijbm1303_9
[3] Bhui, K., Stansfeld, S., McKenzie, K., Karlsen, S., Nazroo, J., & Weich, S. (2005) Racial/ethnic discrimination and common mental disorders among workers: findings from the EMPIRIC Study of Ethnic Minority Groups in the United Kingdom. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 496-501. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2003.033274
[4] Bryman, A. (2004) Social research methods. New York: Oxford University Press.
[5] Chalder, T., Berelowitz, G., Pawlikowska, T., Watts, L., Wessely, S., Wright, D., & Wallace, E. P. (1993) Development of a fatigue scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 37, 147-153. doi:10.1016/0022-3999(93)90081-P
[6] Corti, L., Bishop, L. (2005) Strategies in teaching secondary analysis of qualitative data. Forum for Qualitative Social Research, 6, 47.
[7] Corti, L., & Thompson, P. (2004) Secondary analysis of archive data. In C. Seale, G. Gobo, J. F. Gubrium, & Silverman, D. (Eds.), Qualitative research practice (pp. 327-343). London: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781848608191.d26
[8] Dinos, S., Khoshaba, B., Ashby, D., White, P. D., Nazroo, J., Wessely, S., & Bhui, K. S. (2009) A systematic review of chronic fatigue, its syndromes and ethnicity: Prevalence, severity, co-morbidity and coping. International Journal of Epidemiology, 38, 1554-1570. doi:10.1093/ije/dyp147
[9] Heaton, J. (1998) Secondary analysis of qualitative data. URL: http://sru.soc.surrey.ac.uk/SRU22.html
[10] Jason, L. A., Richman, J. A., Rademaker, A. W., Jordan, K. M., Plioplys, A. V., Taylor, R. R., McCready, W., Huang, C. F., & Plioplys, S. (1999) A community-based study of chronic fatigue syndrome. Archives of Internal Medicine, 159, 2129-2137. doi:10.1001/archinte.159.18.2129
[11] Karasz, A., & Mckinley, P. S. (2007) Cultural differences in conceptual models of everyday fatigue: A vignette study. Journal of Health Psychology, 12, 613-626. doi:10.1177/1359105307078168
[12] Karlsen, S., & Nazroo, J. Y. (2002) Relation between racial discrimination, social class, and health among ethnic minority groups. American Journal of Public Health, 92, 624-631. doi:10.2105/AJPH.92.4.624
[13] Kirmayer L. J., & Young, A. (1998) Culture and somatization: clinical, epidemiological, and ethnographic perspectives. Psychosomatic Medicine, 60, 420-30.
[14] Kleinman, A. (1987) Anthropology and psychiatry. The role of culture in cross-cultural research on illness. British Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 447-454. doi:10.1192/bjp.151.4.447
[15] Kralik, D., Telford, K., Price, K., & Koch, T. (2005) Women’s experiences of fatigue in chronic illness. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 52, 372-380. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2005.03602.x
[16] Luthra, A., & Wessely, S. (2004) Unloading the trunk: neurasthenia, CFS and race. Social Science & Medicine, 58, 2363-2369. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2003.08.031
[17] Mears, C. J., Taylor, R. R., Jordan, K. M., & Binns, H. J. (2004) Sociodemographic and symptom correlates of fatigue in an adolescent primary care sample. Journal of Adolescent Health, 35, 528.e21- 528.e26.
[18] Njoku, M. G. C., Jason, L. A., & Torres-Harding, S. R. (2005) The relationships among coping styles and fatigue in an ethnically diverse sample. Ethnicity & Health, 10, 263-278. doi:10.1080/13557850500138613
[19] O'Connor, W., & Nazroo, J. (2002a) Ethnic differences in the context and experience of psychiatric illness: A qualitative study. DH, HM Stationery Office, London.
[20] O'Connor, W., & Nazroo, J. (2002b) Ethnic differences in the context and experience of psychiatric illness: A qualitative study (EDCEPI). DH, HM Stationery Office, London.
[21] Pawlikowska, T., Chalder, T., Hirsch, S. R., Wallace, P., Wright, D. J. M., & Wesely, S. C. (1994) Population based study of fatigue and psychological distress. British Medical Journal, 308, 763-766.
[22] Reyes-Gibby, C. C., Mendoza, T. R., Wang, X. S., Anderson, K. O., & Cleeland, C. S. (2003) Pain and fatigue in community-dwelling adults. Pain Medicine, 4, 231-237. doi:10.1046/j.1526-4637.2003.03033.x
[23] Schulz, A., & Israel, B. (2000) Social inequalities, stressors and self reported health status among African American and white women in the Detroit metropolitan area. Social Science & Medicine, 51, 1639-1653. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00084-8
[24] Skapinakis, P., Lewis, G., & Mavreas, V. (2003) Cross-cultural differences in the epidemiology of unexplained fatigue syndromes in primary care. British Journal of Psychiatry, 182, 205-209. doi:10.1192/bjp.182.3.205
[25] Song, S., Jason, L. A., Taylor, R. R., Torres-Harding, S. R., Helgerson, J., & Witter, E. (2002) Fatigue severity among African Americans: gender and age interactions. Journal of Black Psychology, 28, 53-65. doi:10.1177/0095798402028001004
[26] Sproston, K., & Nazroo, J. (2002) Ethnic Minority Psychiatric Illness Rates in the Community (EMPIRIC)—Quantitative report. HMSO, London.
[27] Thomas, K. S., Bardwell, W. A., Ancoli-Israel, S., & Dimsdale, J. E. (2006) The toll of ethnic discrimination on sleep architecture and fatigue. Health Psychology, 25, 635-642. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.25.5.635
[28] Torres-Harding, S. R., Jason, L. A., & Taylor, R. R. (2002) Fatigue Severity, Attributions, Medical Utilization, and Symptoms in Persons with Chronic Fatigue. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 25, 99-113. doi:10.1023/A:1014850819995
[29] WHO (2004) International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. URL: http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/
[30] Williamson, R. J., Purcell, S., Sterne, A., Wessely, S., Hotopf, M., Farmer, A., & Sham, P. C. (2005) The relationship of fatigue to mental and physical health in a community sample. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 40, 126-132. doi:10.1007/s00127-005-0858-5

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.