Elsevier

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 113, Issue 3, September 1988, Pages 588-593
The Journal of Pediatrics

Supplement
Functional somatic complaints in adolescents: Relationship to negative life events, self-concept, and family characteristics

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3476(88)80660-7Get rights and content

While recurrent somatic complaints are commonly encountered in children and adolescents, occult organic disease is rarely found in patients with these complaints. Recent studies have confirmed the clinical impression that a relationship exists between functional somatic complaints and negative life events in adolescents. Our goal was to investigate additional psychosocial characteristics that may be associated with functional complaints. One hundred fifteen adolescents coming for the first time to an adolescent medicine clinic completed standard measures of negative life events, psychophysiologic symptoms, self-esteem, peer social comparison, and family functioning before an independent evaluation by a physician. Pattents with functional somatic complaints (chest pain, recurrent abdominal pain, limb pain, and hyperventilation syndrome) reported significantly more negative life events, lower self-esteen, more psychophysiologic symptoms and a lower self-evaluation than did patients coming for physical examination or routine health maintenance. Functional somatic complaints in adolescents may be associated with poor psychosocial adjustment and reaction to negative life events. In addition to ruling out organic disease, physicians dealting with these patients should evaluate other areas, including stressful life events, peer relations, and self-esteem.

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