Personality traits and patient attitudes in ME/CFS

A number of different personality traits and attitudes have been proposed as possible risk factors, and/or perpetuating factors in people with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, for example perfectionism.

Some proponents of the biopsychosocial or psychosocial model of ME/CFS have also claimed ME patients have negative toward mental illness, despite the fact this is not supported by research.

Attitudes towards mental illness
Wood and Wessely researched attitudes towards mental illness and personality traits in people with chronic fatigue syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis in 1999, finding that attitudes towards mental illness are were about the same in both groups of patients.

Notable studies

 * 1995, Does high 'action-proneness' make people more vulnerable to chronic fatigue syndrome? (Full text)


 * 1999, Personality and social attitudes in chronic fatigue syndrome.

2013, Prevalence of DSM-IV Personality Disorders in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Controlled Study (Abstract)