OBJECTIVE Minor illnesses and major diseases are affected by individual, environmental, and social factors. We sought to determine if children's temperament and pain reactivity (individual response styles) measured in kindergarten are related to future health behavior. METHODS Seven-year follow-up measures of health behavior were gathered in 42 children (mean age M = 11 years) who participate...

The object of this study was to assess the prevalence and correlates of the DSM-IV diagnosis of hypochondriasis in a primary care setting. A large sample (N = 1456) of primary care users was given a structured interview to make diagnoses of mood, anxiety, and somatoform disorders and estimate levels of disability. The prevalence of hypochondriasis (DSM-IV) was about 3%. Patients with this disor...

Despite numerous annual bank robberies worldwide, research in the psychological sequelae of bank robberies is sparse and characterized by several limitations. To overcome these limitations we investigated the psychological impact of bank robbery in a cohort study by comparing general levels of traumatization and somatization in employees never exposed to robbery and employees exposed to robbery...

OBJECTIVE The current study aimed to identify the predictive values of psychological factors that are evaluated by the Symptoms Checklist-90 (SCL-90) for acute mountain sickness (AMS). METHODS The subjects (n=285, non-acclimatized young Chinese men), who were recruited in July 2013, completed a case report questionnaire. In addition, their vital signs (heart rate [HR], blood pressure and puls...

BACKGROUND The somatosensory amplification scale (SSAS) is a 10-item self-report instrument designed to assess a tendency to experience normal somatic and visceral sensations as intense, noxious, and disturbing. OBJECTIVES The present study investigated the reliability and validity of the SSAS, developed by Barsky et al. (1988), in the Iranian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was...

The cerebellum has been proven to be connected to the brain network, as in the default-mode network (DMN), among healthy subjects and patients with psychiatric disorders. However, whether or not abnormal cerebellar DMN connectivity exists and what its clinical significance is among drug-naive patients with somatization disorder (SD) at rest remain unclear.A total of 25 drug-naive patients with ...

BACKGROUND Adolescents do present with somatization disorder which is often neglected by pediatricians. This could have serious consequences if not curbed early. OBJECTIVES This study is aimed at determining the pattern and types of Somatization disorder among adolescents attending secondary schools in south east Nigeria. METHODS Somatization disorder was investigated among 485 adolescents ...

Somatization is the psychological mechanism whereby psychological distress is expressed in the form of physical symptoms. The psychological distress in somatization is most commonly caused by a mood disorder that threatens mental stability. Conversion disorder occurs when the somatic presentation involves any aspect of the central nervous system over which voluntary control is exercised. Conver...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study is to assess the prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and associated factors in North Korean Defectors (NKDs). METHODS One hundred forty-four NKDs (male: 20; female: 124; average age: 40.4±11.7 yrs.) completed the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D). A stepwise logistic regression analys...

The relationship between atopic dermatitis (AD) and psychological distress has been well established for children and adolescents. However, it is unclear whether this relationship exists in young adults. This study aimed to assess the relationship between AD and psychological distress in young male adults in South Korea. A cross-sectional study was conducted using regional conscription data fro...