Influence of Alexithymia on Somatic Complaints among Japanese Adolescents: A survey research

Background The purpose of this study is to examine alexithymic tendencies in Japanese adolescents (aged 12–20) and their effects on somatic complaints. Methods Participants were Japanese adolescents (n = 2,759). Alexithymic tendencies were assessed by the Alexithymia Scale for Adolescents (ASA), and somatic complaints by the Somatic Complaint List (SCL). Results The following results were obtained. 1) ASA total scores remained at a high level from early to late adolescence. 2) Among the ASA subfactors, difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) and difficulty describing feelings (DDF), increased during adolescence, whereas externally oriented thinking (EOT) decreased; as a result, the ASA total scores remained high. 3) DIF significantly affected somatic complaints among adolescents irrespective of their academic year and gender. 4) DDF only had an effect of increasing somatic complaints in junior high and high school-aged male participants, and this effect disappeared as respondents’ age grew and they were university students. This shows that the effect of alexithymic tendencies on somatic complaints changed with age. Conclusion Compared to the results of previous studies, the results of this study showed that alexithymic tendencies among Japanese adolescents are consistently high. The study further revealed that the increasing somatic complaints were consistently influenced by DIF.

Active Transport to School May Reduce Psychosomatic Symptoms in School-Aged Children: Data from Nine Countries

It is widely proven that being physically active and avoiding sedentary behaviour help to improve adolescents’ well-being and keep them in better health in general. We aimed to investigate the relationship between modes of transport to school and subjective complaints among schoolchildren. Analyses were based on the HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) surveys conducted in 2017/18 in nine countries (N = 55,607; mean age 13.43 ± 1.64 yrs.). The main outcome showed that health complaints consisted of somatic and psychological complaints. Transport to school was characterized by mode of getting there (walking, biking, or another passive mode). A total of 46.1% of students walked and 7.3% cycled to school; 46.6% commuted by passive means. Biking to school was more frequent in Denmark (37.9%), Norway (26.5%), and Germany (26.6%). The multivariate generalized linear model adjusted for age, gender, country, and school proximity showed that biking to school is protective against reports of health complaints. The beta parameters were equal to −0.498 (p < 0.001) for the general HBSC-SCL index, −0.208 (p < 0.001) for the somatic complaint index, and −0.285 (p < 0.001) for the psychological complaints index. Young people who actively commute to school are less likely to report health complaints, especially psychological symptoms.

Study of Somatic Complaints among Children with Poor Academic Performance

Objectives: 1 To study the nature and prevalence of somatic complaints among children with poor academic performance., 2. To study the associated Psychiatric problems among children with poor academic performance were presenting with somatic complaints. Material and Methods: Total of 1480 children studying in 3 CBSE schools, aged between 6 and 12 years were screened. 312 children were found to be performing poor in academics. After simple randomization and further screening procedure 115 children were included in the study. Each child was assessed by interviewing with MINI-KID Questionnaire and CBCL. Statistical analysis was done using Epi Info 7 software. Results: The prevalence of poor academic performers was found to be 21.08%. The prevalence of somatic complaints among children with poor academic performance was found to be 29.57%. Majority of poor academic performers have single somatic complaints accounts to be 21.74% and multiple somatic complaints accounts to be 7.83%. Prevalence of types somatic complaints like head ache, abdominal pain / discomfort and other complaints among poor academic performers were 20.87%, 11.30% and 9.57% respectively. Conclusion: Somatic complaints in school going children leads to poor performance in academics and school drop outs. Prevalence of somatic complaints were more in boys. Headache is the most common type of somatic complaint presented by the children.