[Amplification: somatosensory or cognitive?]
1Psiquiatra Complejo Hospitalario de Ciudad Real, Madrid.
Actas Luso-Espanolas De Neurologia, Psiquiatria Y Ciencias Afines
|January 1, 1996
Summary
Hypochondriasis is linked to heightened somatic symptom perception. Self-rated depression scores were higher in hypochondriacal patients, correlating with illness anxiety.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychosomatic Medicine
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Somatosensory amplification is the tendency to perceive bodily sensations as intensely distressing.
- This phenomenon is associated with various psychiatric conditions, notably hypochondriasis (health anxiety).
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the Spanish version of the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSS) in clinical outpatients.
- To explore the relationship between somatosensory amplification, hypochondriasis, and depression.
Main Methods:
- A Spanish version of the SSS was administered to 60 outpatients.
- Participants were categorized into three groups: hypochondriacs, non-hypochondriac somatizers, and non-somatizers.
- Depression was assessed using self-rated (Beck Depression Inventory) and observer-rated (Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale) measures; hypochondriasis was measured by the Whiteley Index.
Main Results:
- The SSS demonstrated good internal consistency (alpha = 0.70) but did not yield statistically significant differences between the three groups.
- Hypochondriacal subjects showed a tendency towards higher self-rated than observer-rated depression scores.
- This self-report depression quotient significantly correlated with the Whiteley Index of hypochondriasis.
Conclusions:
- While the SSS showed good reliability, it did not differentiate between patient groups in this study.
- The findings suggest a link between hypochondriasis and a discrepancy in depression reporting, potentially related to negative affectivity.
- Further research is needed to clarify the role of somatosensory amplification and negative affect in health anxiety.
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