Vervoort, Tine, Crombez, Geert, Buysse, Ann et al. · Journal of pediatric psychology · 2007 · DOI
This study looked at whether parents of teenagers with ME/CFS could accurately understand what their child was thinking and feeling. Researchers found that parents were less able to understand their teenager's thoughts and feelings about ME/CFS itself compared to other life situations. Interestingly, teenagers thought their mothers understood them better than their fathers did, even though fathers were actually just as accurate in understanding them.
Understanding how well parents comprehend their adolescent's experience with ME/CFS is crucial for family dynamics and support. The finding that parents struggle specifically to understand their child's CFS-related thoughts and feelings may help identify where parents need better education or support. This research highlights an often-overlooked aspect of ME/CFS care—the emotional and relational impact on families.
This study does not establish whether improved parental empathy causes better outcomes for adolescents with ME/CFS, nor does it demonstrate what interventions might enhance parent-adolescent understanding. The small sample size and cross-sectional design prevent causal conclusions. The study also does not assess whether lower empathic accuracy about CFS is specific to ME/CFS or occurs with 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
Vervoort, Tine, Crombez, Geert, Buysse, Ann, Goubert, Liesbet, Backer, Tine De, & Ickes, William (2007). Brief report: The accuracy of parents for the thoughts and feelings of their adolescent suffering from chronic fatigue: a preliminary study of empathy.. Journal of pediatric psychology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsl032
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-vervoort-2007-brief-report,
author = {Vervoort, Tine and Crombez, Geert and Buysse, Ann and Goubert, Liesbet and Backer, Tine De and Ickes, William},
title = {Brief report: The accuracy of parents for the thoughts and feelings of their adolescent suffering from chronic fatigue: a preliminary study of empathy.},
journal = {Journal of pediatric psychology},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1093/jpepsy/jsl032},
note = {PubMed: 17012438},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/vervoort-2007-brief-report},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/vervoort-2007-brief-report
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