Deary, Vincent, Chalder, Trudie · Psychology & health · 2010 · DOI
This study compared personality traits in 27 women with ME/CFS to 30 healthy women. People with ME/CFS scored higher on neuroticism (tendency to experience negative emotions) and unhealthy perfectionism (setting unrealistic standards and being self-critical). Interestingly, the combination of these traits appeared to be particularly problematic in the fatigued group, suggesting that personality patterns that might seem positive in healthy people can sometimes be harmful when someone has ME/CFS.
Understanding personality patterns in ME/CFS may help clinicians recognize how psychological traits interact with the illness and avoid assuming all 'healthy' traits benefit fatigued patients. This research highlights the importance of individualized psychological assessment in ME/CFS care rather than applying general mental health frameworks.
This study cannot determine whether these personality traits cause ME/CFS, result from living with ME/CFS, or are simply coincidental associations. The cross-sectional design captures only a snapshot in time and cannot establish temporal relationships. Results apply only to the female population studied and may not generalize to men or other demographics.
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
Deary, Vincent & Chalder, Trudie (2010). Personality and perfectionism in chronic fatigue syndrome: a closer look.. Psychology & health. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440802403863
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-deary-2010-personality-perfectionism,
author = {Deary, Vincent and Chalder, Trudie},
title = {Personality and perfectionism in chronic fatigue syndrome: a closer look.},
journal = {Psychology & health},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1080/08870440802403863},
note = {PubMed: 20204923},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/deary-2010-personality-perfectionism},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/deary-2010-personality-perfectionism
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