Pinquart, M · Child: care, health and development · 2013 · DOI
This study combined results from 621 research studies to see whether children and teens with long-term illnesses have lower self-esteem (feeling good about themselves) compared to healthy peers. The findings show that children with chronic illnesses do tend to have somewhat lower self-esteem, with children who have chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and chronic headaches experiencing the most significant drops. The study suggests that helping these children experience success and maintain good friendships can boost their self-esteem.
ME/CFS is identified as one of the chronic illnesses associated with the most significant self-esteem challenges in children and adolescents. Understanding this psychological burden is critical for comprehensive care, as low self-esteem can complicate disease management, worsen psychosocial outcomes, and reduce quality of life. This evidence supports the need for integrated psychosocial interventions specifically tailored for ME/CFS patients.
This meta-analysis does not establish causality—it cannot determine whether chronic illness causes low self-esteem, or whether pre-existing low self-esteem affects vulnerability to chronic illness. The study also cannot explain the specific mechanisms driving low self-esteem in ME/CFS versus other chronic illnesses, nor does it provide information about the temporal relationship between illness onset and self-esteem decline.
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
Pinquart, M (2013). Self-esteem of children and adolescents with chronic illness: a meta-analysis.. Child: care, health and development. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2012.01397.x
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-pinquart-2013-self-esteem,
author = {Pinquart, M},
title = {Self-esteem of children and adolescents with chronic illness: a meta-analysis.},
journal = {Child: care, health and development},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2214.2012.01397.x},
note = {PubMed: 22712715},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pinquart-2013-self-esteem},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pinquart-2013-self-esteem
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