Somatic complaints and their relationship to depressive symptoms in Swedish adolescents

This study investigated the prevalence of somatic complaints among Swedish adolescents aged 13-18 years. Assessment was made by means of questionnaires given to normal boy and girl students in a school sample, but in headache, headache-free, and psychiatric inpatient groups were restricted to girls only. Furthermore, the relationship between somatic and depressive symptoms was examined. In agreement with previous research, the results indicated that normal girls consistently have more frequent and severe somatic complaints. In this sample, the frequency of self-reported symptoms was highest among 13 year olds. For the majority of somatic items, adolescents in the psychiatric group reported more frequent and severe symptoms than those in the contrast conditions. Although significant correlations between total somatic and depressive symptoms were obtained, the power of the most potent somatic items to discriminate between a depressive and nondepressive state among adolescents was weak.