De Ridder, D T, Schreurs, K M, Bensing, J M · Journal of health psychology · 1998 · DOI
This study compared how people with Parkinson's disease and ME/CFS cope with the challenges their illnesses create and how this affects their quality of life. Researchers found that while both groups face similar types of challenges (like managing symptoms and adjusting daily life), the way these challenges affect quality of life differs between the two diseases. For people with ME/CFS, how patients think about and evaluate their illness challenges was more important in predicting their quality of life than the actual severity of their symptoms.
This research highlights that ME/CFS may operate differently from other chronic diseases in how symptoms translate to quality of life, suggesting that psychological appraisal and coping strategies may be particularly important intervention targets for ME/CFS patients. Understanding these disease-specific differences can help clinicians and researchers develop more tailored, effective support strategies rather than applying approaches designed for other chronic illnesses.
This study cannot establish causal relationships—it does not prove that changing how patients perceive their adaptive tasks will improve quality of life, only that perception correlates with it. The cross-sectional design captures only a single time point and cannot determine whether perception influences quality of life or vice versa. Additionally, the findings may not generalize to all ME/CFS populations, as the study included only 134 participants across two diseases.
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
De Ridder, D T, Schreurs, K M, & Bensing, J M (1998). Adaptive tasks, coping and quality of life of chronically ill patients: the cases of Parkinson's disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.. Journal of health psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/135910539800300107
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-de-ridder-1998-adaptive-tasks,
author = {De Ridder, D T and Schreurs, K M and Bensing, J M},
title = {Adaptive tasks, coping and quality of life of chronically ill patients: the cases of Parkinson's disease and chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of health psychology},
year = {1998},
doi = {10.1177/135910539800300107},
note = {PubMed: 22021345},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/de-ridder-1998-adaptive-tasks},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/de-ridder-1998-adaptive-tasks
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