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International Journal of Environmental... Nov 2022Somatization is a phenomenon in which the individual experiences physical symptoms attributable to mental projections. It is a widely used term in common parlance to... (Review)
Review
Somatization is a phenomenon in which the individual experiences physical symptoms attributable to mental projections. It is a widely used term in common parlance to figuratively describe a stressful situation. Syndromes directly related to the mind have been described; pathologies are influenced by somatization. However, the extent of somatization is also related to social and cultural factors. In fact, each culture expresses varying levels of somatization characteristic of the country of origin. A disease can even manifest with different symptoms in different ethnic groups. The migration process arises from the need for change on the part of those who undertake it and culminates in the integration of the person in the host country. This process induces changes in the person of a psychological nature, which also affects somatization. In fact, the most integrated subjects show levels of somatization comparable to those of the host country. These considerations support the thesis that psychological changes are an integral part of health and can affect the development of organic and somatized pathologies.
Topics: Humans; Somatoform Disorders; Acculturation; Ethnicity
PubMed: 36498084
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192316011 -
Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and... Mar 19961. Major psychological disorders are found universally, but their form and content are modified by culture. In addition, the expression of psychosocial distress is... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Review
1. Major psychological disorders are found universally, but their form and content are modified by culture. In addition, the expression of psychosocial distress is largely shaped by cultural values and beliefs. 2. Preliminary research indicates Hispanics are more likely to somatize than Anglos when experiencing psychosocial disorders or psychosocial distress. 3. Additional research is required into the sources of stress for hispanic women, especially those born in the United States, and its effect on their health.
Topics: Adult; Age Factors; Culture; Female; Hispanic or Latino; Humans; Male; Mexico; Mood Disorders; Puerto Rico; Schizophrenic Psychology; Sex Factors; Somatoform Disorders; South America; United States
PubMed: 8676289
DOI: 10.3928/0279-3695-19960301-17 -
International Review of Psychiatry... Feb 2013Abstract The recognition of somatization process in cancer patients is a challenging and neglected area, for the extreme difficulty in differentiating and assessing the... (Review)
Review
Abstract The recognition of somatization process in cancer patients is a challenging and neglected area, for the extreme difficulty in differentiating and assessing the psycho(patho)logical components from those biologically determined and related to cancer and cancer treatment, as well as for the scarce usefulness of rigid categorical DSM criteria. However, several dimensions of somatization (and the interconnected concept of abnormal illness behaviour) have been shown to be diagnosable in cancer patients and to negatively influence coping and quality of life outcomes. An integration of the formal DSM-ICD nosology with a system specifically taking into account the patients' emotional responses to cancer and cancer treatment, such as the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR), is suggested. More data on some specific symptom dimensions, including pain, fatigue and sexual disorders, are needed to examine their possible psychological components. More research is also needed regarding the association of somatization with personality traits (e.g. type D distressed personality, alexithymia), developmental dimensions (e.g. attachment), and cultural issues (e.g. culturally mediated attributional styles to somatic symptoms). Also, the impact and effectiveness of specific therapeutic intervention in 'somatizing' cancer patients is necessary.
Topics: Cost of Illness; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Disease Management; Fatigue; Humans; Illness Behavior; International Classification of Diseases; Neoplasms; Pain; Personality Assessment; Psychopathology; Psychophysiology; Quality of Life; Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological; Sickness Impact Profile; Somatoform Disorders; Stress, Psychological; Survivors
PubMed: 23383666
DOI: 10.3109/09540261.2012.731384 -
Journal of Psychosomatic Research 1989Psychiatrists are referred only a small and unrepresentative proportion of patients who somatize. To a large extent this is due to the fact that patients consider... (Review)
Review
Psychiatrists are referred only a small and unrepresentative proportion of patients who somatize. To a large extent this is due to the fact that patients consider themselves physically ill and regard psychiatric referral as inappropriate. Although somatization has several social advantages it obscures underlying psychopathology and leads to unnecessary physical investigations with a risk of iatrogenic disease. It is important to establish a psychiatric diagnosis as early as possible so that treatment can be started before a chronic pattern of illness behaviour is established.
Topics: Humans; Mood Disorders; Physicians, Family; Psychiatry; Referral and Consultation; Somatoform Disorders
PubMed: 2695623
DOI: 10.1016/0022-3999(89)90081-0 -
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 1987Somatization implies a tendency to experience and communicate psychological distress in the form of somatic symptoms and to seek medical help for them. So defined, it is... (Review)
Review
Somatization implies a tendency to experience and communicate psychological distress in the form of somatic symptoms and to seek medical help for them. So defined, it is neither a disorder nor a diagnostic category but a generic term for a set of experimental, cognitive, and behavioral characteristics of patients who complain of physical symptoms in the absence of relevant medical findings. Such patients are ubiquitous in all medical care settings, pose difficult diagnostic and management problems, and overutilize health care thus contributing to its cost. Somatization may be transient or persistent, and may or may not be associated with a diagnosable medical or psychiatric disorder. The most common concurrence of somatization is with affective and anxiety disorders, and, to a lesser degree, the somatoform disorders. Persistent somatization poses a serious clinical, social, and economic problem and hence early identification of potential chronic somatizers should be attempted to avoid its development. Pain, fatigue, dizziness, and dyspnea are the commonest symptoms. Etiology of somatization is multifactorial and so should be its management.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Communication; Humans; Sick Role; Somatoform Disorders
PubMed: 3333284
DOI: 10.1159/000288013 -
Archives of Family Medicine Sep 1995Somatization, the somatic expression of psychological distress, occurs in a large proportion of primary care patients. It is associated with substantial distress and... (Review)
Review
Somatization, the somatic expression of psychological distress, occurs in a large proportion of primary care patients. It is associated with substantial distress and impairment and with increased health care utilization. Some somatizing patients have a history of multiple unexplained complaints (somatization disorder), others are excessively worried about serious illness (hypochondriasis), and still others have psychiatric disorders that present with somatic symptoms (depression and anxiety). In general, somatizing patients are characterized by abnormal illness behavior (eg, failure to respond to treatment, excessive utilization of care) and psychological distress (eg, depressive symptoms, psychosocial stressors). Recognition requires alertness to characteristic features and skillful interview technique. Successful management begins by legitimizing symptoms. Restraint should be used in performing workups and assigning diagnoses to somatizing patients. Treatment goals should be clarified and regular visits scheduled. Also, behaviors that threaten the physician-patient relationship should be dealt with. Depression and anxiety should be treated when present. Pharmacologic and psychological treatments for somatizing patients have been described, although none has proven efficacy.
Topics: Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Physician-Patient Relations; Somatoform Disorders
PubMed: 7647946
DOI: 10.1001/archfami.4.9.790 -
Environmental Health Perspectives Aug 2002The literature on mental health effects of catastrophic trauma such as community disasters focuses on posttraumatic stress disorder. Somatization disorder is not listed... (Review)
Review
The literature on mental health effects of catastrophic trauma such as community disasters focuses on posttraumatic stress disorder. Somatization disorder is not listed among the classic responses to disaster, nor have other somatoform disorders been described in this literature. Nondiagnostic "somatization," "somatization symptoms," and "somatic symptoms" form the basis of most information about somatization in the literature. However, these concepts have not been validated, and therefore this work suffers from multiple methodological problems of ascertainment and interpretation. Future research is encouraged to consider many methodological issues in obtaining adequate data to address questions about the association of somatization with traumatic events, including a) appropriate comparison groups, b) satisfactory definition and measurement of somatization, c) exclusion of medical explanations for the symptoms, d) recognition of somatizers' spurious attribution of symptoms to medical causes, e) collection of data from additional sources beyond single-subject interviews, f) validation of diagnosis-unrelated symptom reporting or reconsideration of symptoms within diagnostic frameworks, g) separation of somatization after an event into new (incident) and preexisting categories, h) development of research models that include sufficient variables to examine the broader scope of potential relationships, and i) novel consideration of alternative causal directionalities.
Topics: Data Collection; Diagnosis, Differential; Disasters; Humans; Research Design; Somatoform Disorders; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
PubMed: 12194899
DOI: 10.1289/ehp.02110s4637 -
Military Medicine Dec 2019Military service can have beneficial social effects on minorities. However, minority groups are also often at greater risk of somatizing psychological distress and...
INTRODUCTION
Military service can have beneficial social effects on minorities. However, minority groups are also often at greater risk of somatizing psychological distress and coping maladaptively. In military training this would result in lower mental health of minorities and contribute to higher drop-out rates. We thus examined if recruits with different ethnocultural backgrounds report different somatization levels and coping styles.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Seven hundred and forty male recruits of the Swiss Armed Forces aged 18-26 took part in a cross-sectional study during basic training. Participants filled out self-rating questionnaires covering sociodemographics, somatization (SCL-90-R), coping styles (INCOPE-2), and social support (F-SozU). The recruits' ethnic self-identification was used to compare three groups: native Swiss (89%); Turkish or Balkan minority (5%); heterogeneous ethnic minority (6%). Group differences in somatization scores were tested with a Kruskal-Wallis test; group differences in coping styles were tested with a multivariate ANCOVA, controlling for the level of social support experienced.
RESULTS
Recruits from the heterogeneous ethnic minority group reported significantly greater levels of somatization than their native Swiss comrades. Coping styles did not differ between the three ethnic groups, but higher levels of social support were associated with better coping.
CONCLUSION
Military doctors ought to place importance on the differential diagnosis of medically unexplained physical symptoms in ethnic minority recruits. This would contribute to minimize the risk of misdiagnosis. Military mental health professionals who counsel recruits reporting somatic symptoms are advised to be sensitized to an ethnic minority status. Physical complaints could mask affective problems or be part of an adjustment disorder symptomatology.
Topics: Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adult; Ethnicity; Female; Humans; Male; Military Personnel; Psychometrics; Social Support; Somatoform Disorders; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States
PubMed: 30793179
DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usz014 -
International Review of Psychiatry... Feb 2006Somatic symptoms have been conceptualized in many different ways in literature. Current classifications mainly focus on the numbers of symptoms, with relative neglect of... (Review)
Review
Somatic symptoms have been conceptualized in many different ways in literature. Current classifications mainly focus on the numbers of symptoms, with relative neglect of the underlying psychopathology. Researchers have emphasized the importance of a number of experiential, perceptual and cognitive-behavioural aspects of somatization. This review focuses on existing literature on the role of somatosensory amplification, attribution styles, and illness behaviour in somatization. Evidence suggests that somatosensory amplification is neither sensitive nor specific to somatizing states, and that other factors like anxiety, depression, neuroticism, alexithymia may also have an influence. Attribution research supports the existence of multiple causal attributions, which are related to the numbers of somatic symptoms. While somatizing patients have more organic attributions, depressed patients have more psychological attributions. A global somatic attribution style is associated with the number of obscure somatic symptoms, while a psychological attribution style is associated with both--psychological and somatic-- symptoms of depression and anxiety. There are conflicting findings with respect to the role of normalizing attributions in reducing physician recognition of anxiety and depression. Specific symptom attributions appear to explain physician recognition of psychological distress, but global attribution styles do not appear to explain any further variance in physician recognition beyond that explained by specific causal attributions. Illness behaviour has been studied in two distinct ways in literature. Research focusing on attendance rates as a form of illness behaviour suggests that somatization is associated with high levels of health care utilization. There is also some evidence that health care utilization, amplification and attributions styles may be interrelated among somatizing patients. More structured ways to assess illness behaviour have found high levels of abnormal illness behaviour in this population. Overall, research appears to suggest a complex (and as yet unclear) relationship between somatic symptoms and underlying cognitions/illness behaviours. While it is clear that somatization is closely related to a number of perceptual and cognitive-behavioural factors, the precise nature of these relationships are yet to be elucidated.
Topics: Affective Symptoms; Awareness; Comorbidity; Humans; Internal-External Control; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Sick Role; Somatoform Disorders; Suggestion
PubMed: 16451877
DOI: 10.1080/09540260500466790 -
Archives of General Psychiatry Aug 1987We examined the prevalence of somatization disorder symptoms elicited with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule in 3132 community respondents interviewed in Los Angeles by...
We examined the prevalence of somatization disorder symptoms elicited with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule in 3132 community respondents interviewed in Los Angeles by the Epidemiologic Catchment Area program. The variables age, gender, ethnic background, and the presence of a psychiatric diagnosis significantly influenced the number of somatization symptoms reported. An introductory review on conceptual and nosological aspects of somatization phenomena led to the formulation of a less-restrictive operational definition of the somatizer. We found that 4.4% of the respondents met criteria for this abridged cutoff score of somatization, whereas only 0.03% of the respondents met criteria for the full DSM-III somatization disorder diagnosis. This abridged cutoff score was associated with sociodemographic factors and psychiatric diagnosis in the direction predicted.
Topics: Acculturation; Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; California; Catchment Area, Health; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Surveys; Hispanic or Latino; Humans; Male; Manuals as Topic; Middle Aged; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Sex Factors; Somatoform Disorders
PubMed: 3498454
DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1987.01800200039006