Johnson, S K, DeLuca, J, Natelson, B H · Journal of psychiatric research · 1996 · DOI
This study looked at personality traits in people with ME/CFS and compared them to people with multiple sclerosis, depression, and healthy controls. The researchers found that people with ME/CFS had some personality differences, but these were mostly explained by those who also had depression. Overall, the ME/CFS group fell between the healthy controls and the depression group in terms of personality traits.
This study helps clarify whether personality differences in ME/CFS are intrinsic to the illness or secondary to co-occurring depression—an important distinction for understanding the condition's psychiatric comorbidity. Understanding these relationships can reduce stigma by showing that personality changes in ME/CFS are not character-based but rather associated with medical illness.
This study does not prove that personality traits cause ME/CFS or vice versa; it only shows associations at a single time point. It cannot determine whether observed personality differences preceded illness onset, resulted from living with chronic illness, or are secondary to depression. The cross-sectional design prevents any causal interpretation.
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
Johnson, S K, DeLuca, J, & Natelson, B H (1996). Personality dimensions in the chronic fatigue syndrome: a comparison with multiple sclerosis and depression.. Journal of psychiatric research. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3956(95)00040-2
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-johnson-1996-personality-dimensions,
author = {Johnson, S K and DeLuca, J and Natelson, B H},
title = {Personality dimensions in the chronic fatigue syndrome: a comparison with multiple sclerosis and depression.},
journal = {Journal of psychiatric research},
year = {1996},
doi = {10.1016/0022-3956(95)00040-2},
note = {PubMed: 8736462},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/johnson-1996-personality-dimensions},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/johnson-1996-personality-dimensions
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