Fernie, Bruce A, Aoun, Amanda, Kollmann, Josianne et al. · Clinical psychology & psychotherapy · 2019 · DOI
This study created a new questionnaire called the MaSCS-R to measure how people with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and diabetes think about controlling their symptoms. Researchers tested the questionnaire in three languages (English, German, and Arabic) with over 500 patients. They found that negative thoughts about symptom control were linked to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and symptom severity across all three patient groups.
Understanding the role of metacognitions—how people think about their symptoms—may help explain why anxiety and depression are so common in ME/CFS and related illnesses. This validated measurement tool could enable future research to better target psychological interventions and improve treatment outcomes for ME/CFS patients worldwide.
This study does not prove that negative metacognitions cause anxiety, depression, or symptom worsening; it only shows they occur together. The cross-sectional design means we cannot determine whether metacognitions change symptom severity or vice versa. The study also does not test whether changing metacognitions actually improves symptoms or distress.
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
Fernie, Bruce A, Aoun, Amanda, Kollmann, Josianne, Spada, Marcantonio M, & Nikčević, Ana V (2019). Transcultural, transdiagnostic, and concurrent validity of a revised metacognitions about symptoms control scale.. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2367
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-fernie-2019-transcultural-transdiagnostic,
author = {Fernie, Bruce A and Aoun, Amanda and Kollmann, Josianne and Spada, Marcantonio M and Nikčević, Ana V},
title = {Transcultural, transdiagnostic, and concurrent validity of a revised metacognitions about symptoms control scale.},
journal = {Clinical psychology & psychotherapy},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1002/cpp.2367},
note = {PubMed: 30927302},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/fernie-2019-transcultural-transdiagnostic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/fernie-2019-transcultural-transdiagnostic
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