Abstract
The purpose of this study was to describe the association between the marital relationship and the health of the wife with chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS). The convenience sample of 131 wives with CFIDS and their spouses reported their marital relationships similarly, but the wives reported higher CFIDS symptom scores. Marital adjustment scores, wives' conflict scores, and husbands' self-empathy scores were associated with wives' CFIDS symptom scores. Hierarchical multiple regression models showed wives with higher education, lengthier marriages, dyads with higher marital adjustment, and wives with less conflict and less support were predictive of lower problematic CFIDS symptoms.