Jelbert, Rebecca, Stedmon, Jacqui, Stephens, Alison · Clinical child psychology and psychiatry · 2010 · DOI
This study talked to five teenagers who had recovered from ME/CFS about what the illness was like for them. Through interviews and careful analysis of their stories, researchers found that teens experienced five common themes: trying to understand their illness, feeling a sense of loss, noticing things that seemed to make it better or worse, dealing with difficult emotions, and eventually recovering. The teens' own voices highlight that there is still much we need to learn about how this illness affects young people.
Understanding adolescents' lived experiences of ME/CFS is critical because the illness significantly impacts development, education, and mental health during formative years. This study directly centers young patients' perspectives, which can improve clinical support and highlight gaps in current care models. The findings provide important guidance for clinicians working with adolescent ME/CFS patients and their families.
This study does not establish causation for any factors influencing CFS outcomes, as it involves only recovered adolescents and thus cannot identify what differentiates recovery from ongoing illness. The small sample size and retrospective nature of interviews mean findings may not represent all adolescents with ME/CFS. The study does not provide objective evidence about the biological mechanisms of CFS.
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 →
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Primary citation
Jelbert, Rebecca, Stedmon, Jacqui, & Stephens, Alison (2010). A qualitative exploration of adolescents' experiences of chronic fatigue syndrome.. Clinical child psychology and psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104509340940
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-jelbert-2010-qualitative-exploration,
author = {Jelbert, Rebecca and Stedmon, Jacqui and Stephens, Alison},
title = {A qualitative exploration of adolescents' experiences of chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Clinical child psychology and psychiatry},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1177/1359104509340940},
note = {PubMed: 20179018},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jelbert-2010-qualitative-exploration},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/jelbert-2010-qualitative-exploration
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