Further evidence for a broader concept of somatization disorder using the somatic symptom index.
Somatization syndromes were defined in a sample of 102 psychosomatic inpatients according to the restrictive criteria of DSM-III-R somatization disorder and the broader diagnostic concept of the Somatic Symptom Index (SSI). Both groups showed a qualitatively similar pattern of psychopathological comorbidity and had elevated scores on measures of depression, hypochondriasis, and anxiety. A good discrimination between mild and severe forms of somatization was found by using the SSI criterion. SSI use accounted for a substantial amount of comorbidity variance, with rates of 15%-20% for depression, 16% for hypochondriasis, and 13% for anxiety. The results provide further evidence for the validity of the SSI concept, which reflects the clinical relevance of somatization in addition to the narrow definition of somatization disorder.
Hiller
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Clinic Roseneck, Center for Behavioral Medicine (affiliated with the Medical Faculty, University of Munich), Prien, Federal Republic of Germany.
Rief
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W
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D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006998:Hypochondriasis / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*