Psychological factors in psychosomatic diseases: an outline of research results

This article presents an outline of 13 research studies which were carried out in the 1980s at the Clinical Psychology Division of the Psychology Department at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. The studies concentrated on various psychosomatic diseases and dysfunctions by applying 26 psychodiagnostic instruments. The problems, the usefulness of the instruments, and basic characteristics of diseases were analyzed, and a model for further research into psychological factors in psychosomatic diseases was proposed. We are of the opinion that the fundamental dimensions of personality--aggressiveness and ways of coping with stress within a specific life style and supported by information from life history--deserve special attention. Therefore, we suggest that a set of basic psychodiagnostic instruments be compiled. We also suggest that particularly general practitioners be acquainted with these factors involved in psychosomatic dysfunctions, because they most often confront problems of this kind. We believe that somatic therapy is doubtless necessary, but insufficient, because a patient is not treated as a whole, which is imperative in psychosomatics. This is a sphere where medicine and psychology will meet more regularly in the future.