White, C, Schweitzer, R · Journal of psychosomatic research · 2000 · DOI
This study compared personality traits between 44 people with ME/CFS and 44 healthy people without the illness. Researchers measured perfectionism (setting very high standards), self-esteem (how people value themselves), and emotional control. People with ME/CFS showed higher levels of perfectionism and lower self-esteem, but emotional control was similar between groups.
Understanding personality factors in ME/CFS may help identify psychological patterns that contribute to illness development and persistence, potentially informing more targeted psychological interventions. This work bridges psychosocial research and ME/CFS phenotyping, contributing to biopsychosocial illness models.
This study does not prove that perfectionism or low self-esteem cause ME/CFS, as personality traits were measured after illness onset—causation cannot be established from a cross-sectional comparison. The study cannot distinguish whether these personality differences preceded the illness, developed as a consequence of living with ME/CFS, or both. It does not address the biological mechanisms underlying 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
White, C & Schweitzer, R (2000). The role of personality in the development and perpetuation of chronic fatigue syndrome.. Journal of psychosomatic research. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3999(00)00087-8
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-white-2000-role-personality,
author = {White, C and Schweitzer, R},
title = {The role of personality in the development and perpetuation of chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {Journal of psychosomatic research},
year = {2000},
doi = {10.1016/s0022-3999(00)00087-8},
note = {PubMed: 11033370},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/white-2000-role-personality},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/white-2000-role-personality
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