Band, Rebecca, Barrowclough, Christine, Emsley, Richard et al. · British journal of health psychology · 2016 · DOI
This study looked at how the way family members and partners respond to ME/CFS symptoms affects patients' day-to-day experiences. Researchers asked 23 ME/CFS patients and their loved ones to report on their interactions and symptoms six times daily for a week using smartphones. They found that negative or unhelpful responses from loved ones made symptoms and distress worse in the moment, while overly helpful responses sometimes led to less activity, but these effects were temporary rather than lasting.
Understanding how social interactions in real time affect ME/CFS symptoms could help inform family support interventions and clinical guidance. The finding that both negative and overly solicitous responses have different negative consequences suggests personalized support strategies might benefit patients more than generic advice.
This study does not establish causation—it cannot determine whether significant other responses directly cause symptom fluctuations or whether patients' worsening symptoms prompt certain responses from their loved ones. The transitory nature of associations also means these momentary effects may not accumulate into long-term illness outcomes. Additionally, the modest sample size and observational design limit generalizability.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Band, Rebecca, Barrowclough, Christine, Emsley, Richard, Machin, Matthew, & Wearden, Alison J (2016). Significant other behavioural responses and patient chronic fatigue syndrome symptom fluctuations in the context of daily life: An experience sampling study.. British journal of health psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12179
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-band-2016-significant-other,
author = {Band, Rebecca and Barrowclough, Christine and Emsley, Richard and Machin, Matthew and Wearden, Alison J},
title = {Significant other behavioural responses and patient chronic fatigue syndrome symptom fluctuations in the context of daily life: An experience sampling study.},
journal = {British journal of health psychology},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1111/bjhp.12179},
note = {PubMed: 26700742},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/band-2016-significant-other},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/band-2016-significant-other
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