Somatization (bodily symptoms for which organic causes are not found) is a common occurrence in primary cause settings these multiple unexplained symptoms results in substantial patient disability, excess health care use, physician frustration and therapeutic disappointment. Psychological trauma on the other hand has been found to be highly prevalent among community and clinical samples. The relationship between somatization and previous exposure to psychological trauma is not well understood. Despite the evidence for an association, several gaps of knowledge remain to be clarified. Specific characteristics of trauma likely to result in somatization are not know yet. The number of traumatic experiences, their severity, type, age of occurrence and psychiatric co-morbidity could represent important predictors of somatization in the traumatized population. The present study proposes to examine further the relationship between psychological trauma and somatization in a group of primary care patients at a Veterans Administration Medical Center. We plan to study 240 adult patients (120 male/ 120 females) who are enrolled in a primary care clinic. Using a structured diagnostic interview, our goals are to analyze: (1) the relationship between trauma and somatization; (2) the relationship between post traumatic stress disorder and somatization; and (3) the relationship among trauma characteristics and somatization. The long term goal of this project is to understand better the relationship between trauma and somatization. Results of this study should assist in the diagnosis and treatment of the traumatized and somatizing patients in the primary care setting. The development of interventions to address the suffering of this group of patients will be the subsequent goal after completing this project.
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