Illness behavior

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Medical Sociology
• Psychosomatic Medicine

Background:

• Illness behavior describes individual responses to health status.
• Abnormal illness behavior involves maladaptive responses to health.
• Terms like somatization have been refined to functional somatic symptoms and medically unexplained symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review concepts and measurement tools related to illness behavior and perception.
• To discuss the evolution of terminology from somatization to atheoretical terms.
• To highlight instruments for assessing illness attitudes, denial, and perception.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of key concepts and measurement instruments.
• Discussion of historical and current terminology in illness behavior research.
• Identification of validated questionnaires for symptom assessment and illness perception.

Main Results:

• Established concepts include illness behavior, abnormal illness behavior, somatization, functional somatic symptoms, and medically unexplained symptoms.
• Validated instruments exist for measuring somatic symptoms (e.g., Kellner's Symptom Questionnaire), illness attitudes (e.g., Kellner's Illness Attitude Scales), illness denial, and illness perception (e.g., Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire).

Conclusions:

• Accurate assessment of illness behavior, perception, and denial requires appropriate tools.
• Understanding these constructs is crucial for managing patients with somatic symptoms and health concerns.
• The field has evolved to use more precise and less pathologizing terminology.