Cognitive Characteristics in Somatizers with Anxiety Symptoms

Na, Young Seok; Jung, Han Yong; Kwon, Young Jun; Lee, So Young; Park, Jun Ho

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Assuming that somatization closely interacts with anxiety symptoms, one might speculate that anxiety symptoms will produce the significant differences in development, course and treatment of somatization and the cause of these differences will be elucidated in the cognitive aspect. This study was performed to examine the cognitive characteristics in terms of the somatosensory amplification and the symptom interaction in patients with somatization accompanied by anxiety symptoms.
METHODS
: The following measures were administered to subjects who had a T-score of >60 on somatization subscale of Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R):1) Minnessota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Korean Version (MMPI-K), 2) Somato-sensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), 3) Symptom Interpretation Questionnaire (SIQ). There was a comparison of differences in the somatosensory amplification and the symptom interpretation between the anxiety group and the non-anxiety group divided by T-score of >60 on the psychasthenia subscale of MMSE-K. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the effect of the differences in the somatosensory amplification and the symptom interpretation on age, sex, marital status and level of education between those two groups.
RESULTS
: There was a greater amplification of sensation in the anxiety group than the non-anxiety group. The former showed a higher level of physical, psychological and catastrophic interpretation than non-anxiety group except with regard to environmental interpretation. Somatization was affected by somatosensory amplification and physical interpretation in both groups, as well as psychological interpretation in the anxiety group.
CONCLUSION
: Regarding the cognitive aspect, the somatosensory amplification and symptom interpretation were more severely distorted in patients accompanied by anxiety symptoms. These results suggest that a therapeutic approach based on the cognitive characteristics is essential for the effective management of somatizer.