Blakely, A A, Howard, R C, Sosich, R M et al. · Psychological medicine · 1991 · DOI
This study examined whether ME/CFS patients have distinct psychological traits and emotional patterns compared to people with chronic pain and healthy individuals. Researchers found that ME/CFS patients showed higher levels of emotional sensitivity and distress, and that this trait may have been present before they developed the illness rather than being caused by it. Interestingly, one group of ME/CFS patients reported few psychological symptoms, suggesting ME/CFS may present differently in different people.
This study challenges the assumption that all ME/CFS psychological symptoms are simply reactions to illness, suggesting instead that certain personality traits may predispose individuals to develop CFS. Understanding these psychological patterns helps validate the heterogeneity of ME/CFS presentations and may inform personalized treatment approaches and psychological support strategies.
This study does not establish causation—elevated emotionality could predispose to CFS development or could result from undiagnosed illness in the period before diagnosis. The cross-sectional design cannot determine temporal relationships, and the findings do not prove that CFS is primarily psychological in origin or that psychological interventions alone would resolve the illness.
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
Blakely, A A, Howard, R C, Sosich, R M, Murdoch, J C, Menkes, D B, & Spears, G F (1991). Psychiatric symptoms, personality and ways of coping in chronic fatigue syndrome.. Psychological medicine. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291700020456
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-blakely-1991-psychiatric-symptoms,
author = {Blakely, A A and Howard, R C and Sosich, R M and Murdoch, J C and Menkes, D B and Spears, G F},
title = {Psychiatric symptoms, personality and ways of coping in chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Psychological medicine},
year = {1991},
doi = {10.1017/s0033291700020456},
note = {PubMed: 1876640},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/blakely-1991-psychiatric-symptoms},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/blakely-1991-psychiatric-symptoms
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