A comprehensive approach to understand somatic symptoms and their impact on emotional and psychosocial functioning in children

Cerutti, Rita; Spensieri, Valentina; Valastro, Carmela; Presaghi, Fabio; Canitano, Roberto; Guidetti, Vincenzo

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0171867

Cited by 37 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…Past research across all settings, albeit limited, suggests that the overall burden of SD is large among conflict-affected populations and that SD hinders daily functioning across varying demographics [11,23,24]. A deeper understanding of the scope of this problem would be beneficial to key health system actors during efforts to provide required mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services following humanitarian crises.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of somatic distress among internally displaced persons in Ukraine: analysis of a cross-sectional survey

Cheung

Makhashvili

Javakhishvili

et al. 2019

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

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Purpose: There are often high rates of mental disorders in low-and middle-income countries during humanitarian crises but the prevalence of somatic distress (SD) is underreported in existing health services research. We aim to examine patterns of SD among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine, who were forcibly displaced due to the ongoing conflict in the country's eastern region. Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional survey of 2203 adult IDPs throughout Ukraine. The survey collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, traumatic life events (Life Events Checklist), utilisation of mental health care services, and self-reported outcomes of SD (Patient Health Questionnaire 15), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 9), and post-traumatic stress (PTSD Checklist). Descriptive and multivariate regression analyses were used. Results: Over half of respondents (n=1142, 55%) were identified as being at risk of SD (PHQ-15 score≥6) and the prevalence of moderate (n=377, 18%) and high severity SD risk (n=275, 13%) was substantial. There were significant associations (p<0.05) between SD and age, female gender, economic status, self-reported depression and post-traumatic stress, and multiple trauma exposures. Being at risk of SD was also significantly associated with increased functional disability. Use of mental health care services was low across this population and only high SD risk seemed to be a reliable predictor of care-seeking behaviour. Conclusions: There is a significant risk of SD among IDPs in Ukraine. Our results illustrate the need for targeted health services research and regional programs to ensure that mental health needs are appropriately met.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of somatic distress among internally displaced persons in Ukraine: analysis of a cross-sectional survey

Cheung

Makhashvili

Javakhishvili

et al. 2019

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

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“…It has been suggested that alexithymia is broadly associated with various mental and physical health problems ( Cerutti et al, 2016 , 2017 ; Gatta et al, 2016 ). Individuals with alexithymia are more likely to have a limited ability to adaptively cope with stressful conditions and tend to encompass unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol and drug use ( Lumley et al, 2007 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Difficulty in Identifying and Describing Feelings in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Behavior (NSSI): Associations With Perceived Attachment Quality, Stressful Life Events, and Suicidal Ideation

2018

Self Cite

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Objective: Core alexithymic features, such as the difficulty in identifying and describing feelings, are associated with poor attachment styles and emotional trauma, which influence the capacity to regulate affect. Additionally, emotional regulation has been found to be the most commonly identified function associated with non-suicidal self-injury behavior (NSSI) in adolescents as they attempt to modulate strong emotions. However, few studies have examined the link between difficulty in identifying and describing feelings (core components of alexithymia), NSSI behaviors, quality of attachment, life stressors and suicidal ideation in healthy early adolescents. Consequently, this study aims to investigate these constructs and the relationship among them in a large non-clinical sample of adolescents.Methods: Seven hundred and nine middle school students (50.4% males), aged 10–15 years (M = 12.6; SD = 1.06) were involved in this study. In order to investigate the variables considered in the study, the following measures were administered: the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory exploring non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors; the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children examining difficulty in identifying and describing feelings; the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment assessing the quality of parental and peer attachment; the Life Stressor Checklist-Revised outlining stressful/traumatic events and the Children’s Depression Inventory evaluating suicidal ideation.Results: We found significantly positive relationships among difficulty in identifying and describing feelings, NSSI behaviors, stressful events, and suicidal ideation. Data indicated a significant negative association of difficulty in identifying and describing feelings with quality of attachment to parents and peers. Further findings highlighted that difficulty in identifying and describing feelings significantly mediated the effect of quality of attachment (parent and peer) on NSSI and suicidal ideation.Conclusion: The ability to identify and describing feelings is important to managing emotional expression and understanding the feelings of others, both crucial in attaining successful interpersonal relationships. Our data revealed that, while controlling for stressful life events, low levels of attachment may increase adolescents’ difficulty in identifying and describing their own feelings, which in turn may increase the risk of both NSSI and suicidal ideation.

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“…The CSI, specifically the short version (CSI-24) [ 17 , 37 ], which was translated into Italian by Cerutti and coworkers [ 21 ] using the translation/back-translation method, was used to assess each child's perception of somatic symptoms (SSD). This instrument is one of the most commonly used to assess somatisation among children and adolescents [ 38 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using this type of assessment, some studies have shown a significant relationship between somatic symptoms (SS) and alexithymia, a psychological factor abundantly investigated in chronic pain [ 19 ] in both adults [ 20 ] children [ 21 ]. Poor emotional awareness and the alexithymia personality trait seem to play an important role in the aetiology of functional somatic complaints featuring pain as a form of somatisation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between Pain, Somatisation, and Emotional Awareness in Primary School Children

Rossi¹,

Bruno²,

Chiusalupi³

et al. 2018

Pain Research and Treatment

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Poor emotional awareness (EA) seems to play an important role in the aetiology of functional somatic complaints featuring pain as a form of somatisation. The aim of this study was to shed more light on this relationship by investigating the links between pain, somatisation, and emotional awareness in a nonclinical population of 445 children aged 6–10. Assessing pain through the Children's Somatisation Inventory (CSI), a very high percentage of the entire sample complained of experiencing pain at least one site (84.07%) over the preceding 2 weeks. Although no difference in the prevalence of pain (whole) was found when the sample was subdivided by Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale-Children (LEAS-C), a relationship between low level of LEAS-Self and prevalence of headache (H) was detected (χ2=7.69, p=0.02). LEAS (Self) was correlated with the intensity of back pain (BP) (r=-0.12; p< 0.05), H (r=-0.12; p< 0.05) but not with abdominal pain (AP). Pain worsened QoL, and the greatest negative correlation with total KidScreen-10 was found for abdominal pain (r=-0.14; p< 0.01). Our results suggest that low EA is a predictor of somatisation, BP severity, H, and severity of pain in general, but not AP.

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A comprehensive approach to understand somatic symptoms and their impact on emotional and psychosocial functioning in children

Cited by 37 publications

References 42 publications

Patterns of somatic distress among internally displaced persons in Ukraine: analysis of a cross-sectional survey

Patterns of somatic distress among internally displaced persons in Ukraine: analysis of a cross-sectional survey

The Role of Difficulty in Identifying and Describing Feelings in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Behavior (NSSI): Associations With Perceived Attachment Quality, Stressful Life Events, and Suicidal Ideation

Relationship between Pain, Somatisation, and Emotional Awareness in Primary School Children

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