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Adaptive styles in adolescents with psychosomatic illness
1Division of Child Psychiatry and Child Development, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA.
Acta Paedopsychiatrica
|January 1, 1994
Summary
This study identified four coping styles in adolescents with psychosomatic issues. Repressors were linked to physical symptoms, while impression managers were associated with affective disorders, informing clinical management.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Repressive defense style is well-documented in adults.
- This style involves low self-reported distress and high defensiveness.
- Adaptive coping styles are crucial for understanding patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- Identify and characterize adaptive coping styles in adolescent psychosomatic patients.
- Examine the relationship between specific diagnoses and coping styles.
- Inform pediatric and psychiatric management strategies.
Main Methods:
- Standardized psychometric examination of 120 adolescent psychosomatic patients.
- Categorization into four adaptive styles: repressor, impression manager, low anxious, and high anxious.
- Analysis of associations between coping styles and diagnoses (DSM III-R Axis III and Axis I).
Main Results:
- Four adaptive styles were identified in the adolescent sample.
- Adolescents with physical symptom diagnoses (Axis III or Axis I) were more likely to be repressors.
- Adolescents with affective disorders were more likely to be impression managers.
Conclusions:
- Adolescent psychosomatic patients exhibit distinct adaptive coping styles.
- Coping style is associated with the nature of the patient's diagnosis.
- Findings have implications for tailored pediatric and psychiatric interventions.