Hypochondriasis and tendency to adopt the sick role as moderators of the relationship between life‐events and somatic symptomatology

The relationship between measures of hypochondriasis and the tendency to adopt a sick role, life‐events and somatic symptomatology was explored. A sample of 85 married couples drawn from the community ( n = 170) completed mailed questionnaires about the past year's events and symptoms and about hypochondriasis and sick‐role tendency. Life‐events were related to symptoms ( r = 0.17) as were hypochondriasis, sick‐role tendency, and subjects' sex ( rs = 0.23, 016, 0.22, respectively). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that hypochondriasis and sick‐role tendency were also related to the association between events and symptoms, such that subjects with high scores on the former measures showed a reduced event‐symptom correlation compared with low and moderate scorers. Low scorers on hypochondriasis and sick‐role tendency had a considerably stronger relationship between events and symptoms compared to those typically reported in the literature. It was suggested that hypochondriasis and sick‐role tendency may be moderators of the life‐event‐symptom relationship and as such deserve more widespread use in life‐events research

MEDLINE · Psychiatry · Sick leave · Sick role · Clinical Psychology · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Medicine · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications

• Culture, Affect and Somatization

  Open Access•L J Kirmayer•Transcultural Psychiatric…•1984

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