Functional Somatic Symptoms and Emotion Regulation in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

Background: Functional Somatic Symptoms (FSS; i.e. symptoms without sufficient organic explanation) often begin in childhood and adolescence and are common to this developmental period. Emotion regulation and parental factors seem to play a relevant role in the development and maintenance of FSS. So far, little systematic research has been conducted in childhood and adolescence on the importance of specific emotion regulation strategies and their links with parental factors. Method: In two studies, children and adolescents (Study 1/Study 2: N = 46/68; 65%/60% female, Age M = 10.0/13.1) and their parents completed questionnaires on children's FSS and adaptive and maladaptive emotional regulation (in Study 2, additionally parental somatization and child/parental alexithymia). Results: In both studies, child-reported FSS were negatively associated with children's adaptive emotion regulation (r = -.34/-.31, p