Murray, J B · Perceptual and motor skills · 1992 · DOI
This review examined how psychological factors relate to chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The author looked at existing research to understand the mental and emotional aspects of living with this illness. This work helps clarify that ME/CFS involves psychological dimensions that are important to understand and address in patient care.
Understanding the psychological aspects of ME/CFS is crucial because it helps patients and clinicians recognize that this illness affects mental health and well-being alongside physical symptoms. This early review contributed to moving the field away from purely psychological explanations toward a more integrated biopsychosocial understanding of ME/CFS.
This review does not establish that psychological factors cause ME/CFS, nor does it prove that ME/CFS is primarily a psychological condition. Reviews synthesize existing work and cannot establish causation or new empirical findings. The conclusions reflect the state of knowledge in 1992 and may not account for subsequent biomedical discoveries about ME/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 →
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
Murray, J B (1992). Psychological aspects of chronic fatigue syndrome.. Perceptual and motor skills. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1992.74.3c.1123
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-murray-1992-psychological-aspects,
author = {Murray, J B},
title = {Psychological aspects of chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Perceptual and motor skills},
year = {1992},
doi = {10.2466/pms.1992.74.3c.1123},
note = {PubMed: 1501980},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/murray-1992-psychological-aspects},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/murray-1992-psychological-aspects
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