Previous research has linked somatization (presenting physical symptoms that are not explained by a medical condition) to suppressing emotions, suppressing thoughts, and difficulty expressing emotions verbally. The authors of a recent manuscript (Gupta & Pérez-Edgar, 2012) published in the Journal of Health Psychology proposed a that the multidimensional construct of Socio-Affective Vigilance (SAV) may capture individual differences in emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components that predict somatization. They operationalized SAV as the combination of neuroticism, thought distortion, social avoidance, and examined the association between SAV and somatization in a sample of 301 undegraduate psychology students. They found that SAV predicted somatic complaints above and beyond its individual components. Low sensory threshold for environmental stimuli also uniquely predicted somatic symptoms.

Gupta, Deepti, & Pérez-Edgar, Koraly. (2012). The role of temperament in somatic complaints among young female adults. Journal of Health Psychology, 17(1), 26-35. doi: 10.1177/1359105311405351

The Personality Project

What role does personality play in somatization?