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Emotions and self‐esteem as indicators of somatic complaints in children
Author(s) -
Terwogt Mark Meerum,
Rieffe Carolien,
Miers Anne C.,
Jellesma Francine C.,
Tolland Abigail
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
infant and child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.87
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1522-7219
pISSN - 1522-7227
DOI - 10.1002/icd.479
Subject(s) - psychology , coping (psychology) , mood , anxiety , self esteem , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , perception , psychiatry , neuroscience
The literature on somatic complaints in children without a clear physical medical cause often demonstrates connections with various psychological factors, such as negative emotions and problems handling them, poor self‐image, and coping potential. We entered these elements into a structural model to elucidate the relationships among them and tested it on 330 children (mean age 10 years and 9 months). The results showed that mood balance contributed most to the prediction of self‐reported somatic complaints. Moreover, mood (in combination with anxiety and depression problems) had an indirect impact on children's somatic complaints by influencing self‐esteem. The influence and position of coping was less clear. The results are discussed in terms of the ‘symptom perception theory’. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.