Blenkiron, P, Edwards, R, Lynch, S · The Journal of nervous and mental disease · 1999 · DOI
This study looked at whether people with ME/CFS who tend to be perfectionists experience different levels of fatigue, anxiety, or depression compared to healthy people. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS actually had lower perfectionism scores than healthy controls, and were less likely to set high standards for others. Interestingly, this lower expectation of others was linked to less physical fatigue.
This research challenges the common assumption that perfectionism drives ME/CFS symptoms, suggesting instead that patients may adapt by lowering their expectations. Understanding these personality patterns could inform psychological approaches to rehabilitation and help clinicians avoid misconceptions about perfectionism as a primary driver of illness.
This study does not establish that perfectionism causes or worsens ME/CFS fatigue—the observed negative correlation between other-oriented perfectionism and fatigue is the opposite of what this hypothesis would predict. The small sample size and cross-sectional design cannot determine whether lower perfectionism is a cause, consequence, or unrelated characteristic of ME/CFS. No causal relationships can be inferred from correlational data.
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
Blenkiron, P, Edwards, R, & Lynch, S (1999). Associations between perfectionism, mood, and fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome: a pilot study.. The Journal of nervous and mental disease. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-199909000-00006
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-blenkiron-1999-associations-between,
author = {Blenkiron, P and Edwards, R and Lynch, S},
title = {Associations between perfectionism, mood, and fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome: a pilot study.},
journal = {The Journal of nervous and mental disease},
year = {1999},
doi = {10.1097/00005053-199909000-00006},
note = {PubMed: 10496512},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/blenkiron-1999-associations-between},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/blenkiron-1999-associations-between
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