Associations between perfectionism, mood, and fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome - A pilot study

This study investigated possible associations between perfectionistic perso nality traits, mood, and fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Forty C FS sufferers referred to tertiary care and 31 control healthy subjects comp leted the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS), Chalder Fatigue Quest ionnaire, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale. Total perfection ism scores did not correlate with fatigue, anxiety, or depression in either group. Other-oriented MPS scores were significantly lower among CFS suffer ers (p = .0019), especially women, and correlated negatively with physical fatigue levels overall (R = -0.27, p = .02). Total and socially prescribed MPS scores correlated with age for the CFS group alone (p = .05). Possible reasons why this study did not confirm a positive association between perfe ctionism and CFS are discussed. The finding that CFS sufferers set lower st andards and have lower expectations for significant others may have implica tions for rehabilitation and recovery from this disorder.