Besharat, Mohammad Ali, Behpajooh, Ahmad, Poursharifi, Hamid et al. · Asian journal of psychiatry · 2011 · DOI
This study looked at whether personality traits are connected to fatigue in people with ME/CFS. Researchers compared 77 people with ME/CFS to 72 healthy people and found that those with ME/CFS tended to score higher on two personality traits: neuroticism (tendency to experience negative emotions) and conscientiousness (tendency to be organized and responsible). Both of these traits were linked to how severe their fatigue symptoms were.
Understanding personality factors in ME/CFS may help researchers identify individuals at risk for severe fatigue and inform psychological support strategies. This research bridges personality psychology and ME/CFS biology, potentially opening new avenues for tailored management approaches that address both neurobiological and psychological dimensions of the illness.
This study does not prove that personality traits cause ME/CFS or its severity; it only shows associations. The cross-sectional design means we cannot determine whether certain personality traits develop because of ME/CFS symptoms rather than contributing to them. Additionally, the findings may not apply to all ME/CFS patients, as the sample was relatively small and may not be fully representative.
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
Besharat, Mohammad Ali, Behpajooh, Ahmad, Poursharifi, Hamid, & Zarani, Fariba (2011). Personality and chronic fatigue syndrome: The role of the five-factor model.. Asian journal of psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2010.12.001
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-besharat-2011-personality-chronic,
author = {Besharat, Mohammad Ali and Behpajooh, Ahmad and Poursharifi, Hamid and Zarani, Fariba},
title = {Personality and chronic fatigue syndrome: The role of the five-factor model.},
journal = {Asian journal of psychiatry},
year = {2011},
doi = {10.1016/j.ajp.2010.12.001},
note = {PubMed: 23050916},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/besharat-2011-personality-chronic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/besharat-2011-personality-chronic
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.