Maher-Edwards, Lorraine, Fernie, Bruce A, Murphy, Gabrielle et al. · Clinical psychology & psychotherapy · 2012 · DOI
This study explored how ME/CFS patients think about their thinking—specifically, their beliefs about analyzing and solving problems related to their symptoms. Researchers found that patients have both helpful and unhelpful thoughts about trying to understand their illness, and they often focus on either distracting themselves or monitoring their symptoms closely. The study suggests that these thought patterns may play a role in how ME/CFS symptoms develop or persist.
Understanding the cognitive patterns that may maintain or worsen ME/CFS symptoms could open new avenues for psychological assessment and treatment approaches tailored to this population. This mechanistic work helps explain *how* psychological factors interact with the illness, rather than suggesting ME/CFS is purely psychological in origin.
This study does not establish that metacognitive patterns *cause* ME/CFS or that modifying these thoughts would cure the illness. As a small, cross-sectional descriptive study, it cannot prove causality or generalize findings broadly to all ME/CFS patients. It does not address whether observed metacognitive patterns are unique to ME/CFS or present in other chronic illnesses.
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
Maher-Edwards, Lorraine, Fernie, Bruce A, Murphy, Gabrielle, Nikcevic, Ana V, & Spada, Marcantonio M (2012). Metacognitive factors in chronic fatigue syndrome.. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.757
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-maher-edwards-2012-metacognitive-factors,
author = {Maher-Edwards, Lorraine and Fernie, Bruce A and Murphy, Gabrielle and Nikcevic, Ana V and Spada, Marcantonio M},
title = {Metacognitive factors in chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Clinical psychology & psychotherapy},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1002/cpp.757},
note = {PubMed: 21567656},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/maher-edwards-2012-metacognitive-factors},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-27. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/maher-edwards-2012-metacognitive-factors
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