Pelcovitz, D, Septimus, A, Friedman, S B et al. · Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP · 1995
This study compared 10 teenage girls with ME/CFS to 10 healthy girls and 10 girls who had cancer (now in remission). The researchers found that girls with ME/CFS reported more physical complaints and emotional symptoms like depression compared to the other groups. Parents of ME/CFS girls also noticed more emotional and physical complaints in their daughters, though family relationships and behaviors were similar across all groups.
Understanding the psychological and emotional experience of adolescents with ME/CFS is important for comprehensive clinical care and validates that these patients experience significant symptom burden. This early study helps demonstrate that ME/CFS in youth involves measurable psychological correlates, supporting the need for holistic treatment approaches that address both physical and emotional wellbeing.
This study does not establish whether psychological symptoms are a cause or consequence of ME/CFS—it only documents their co-occurrence. The small sample size (10 per group) limits generalizability, and the absence of objective biomarkers or structured clinical diagnostic criteria means findings cannot be extrapolated to all adolescents with ME/CFS. No conclusions can be drawn about causality or treatment efficacy.
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
Pelcovitz, D, Septimus, A, Friedman, S B, Krilov, L R, Mandel, F, & Kaplan, S (1995). Psychosocial correlates of chronic fatigue syndrome in adolescent girls.. Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8557833/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-pelcovitz-1995-psychosocial-correlates,
author = {Pelcovitz, D and Septimus, A and Friedman, S B and Krilov, L R and Mandel, F and Kaplan, S},
title = {Psychosocial correlates of chronic fatigue syndrome in adolescent girls.},
journal = {Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP},
year = {1995},
note = {PubMed: 8557833},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pelcovitz-1995-psychosocial-correlates},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pelcovitz-1995-psychosocial-correlates
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