Gender differences in symptom reporting: the influence of psychological traits. Laura Goodwin

1. Gender differences in symptom reporting: the influence of psychological traits. Laura Goodwin Dr Stephen Fairclough Liverpool John Moores University • BACKGROUND. • The process of symptom perception represents a bridge between physiological activity and psychological appraisal. It is influenced by many factors, such as: • Perception of physiological activity • Attention (selective bias) • Trait personality variables • Existing beliefs about health and illness • The ‘Competition of Cues’ hypothesis proposes that there is competition for attentional resources between internal bodily cues and external cues (Pennebaker, 1982).Therefore, a stimulating, rich environment will draw attention from internal sources, whereas monotonous environments tend to focus attention to the self and somatic symptoms (Pennebaker, 1982). • Kolk, Hanewald, Schlagen & Gijsbers van Wijk (2002) found that selective attention to the body was an important predictor of somatic symptoms, with those reporting a higher tendency to be sensitive to internal bodily processes reporting a greater number of somatic symptoms. • Women tend to report a greater frequency of physical symptoms compared to men (Popay et al., 1993; Verbrugge, 1989; Pennebaker, 1982; Vassend, 1989).It has been proposed that men and women use different coping strategies once a symptom has been detected (Gijsbers van Wijk & Kolk, 1997). • Aims of the study: • To develop a subjective measure of symptom reporting that is multifaceted. • To examine the influence of gender on symptom reporting. • METHOD. • Cross-sectional study. • 195 undergraduate students were recruited. • Males (N = 102; Mean age – 20.90 (S.D. 2.45)) • Females (N = 93; Mean age – 20.31 (S.D. 2.18)) • Participants completed a questionnaire comprising the following measures: • Private Body Consciousness scale – assesses attention to internal physical sensations. • Cognitive Failures – a measure of error frequency, and therefore related to attention to the self at the expense of attention to the external world (Vervaeke et al., 1999). • Positive and Negative Affect Schedule – developed to measure positive and negative mood. • Student Hassles – no. of current hassles/stressors. • Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale • Symptom Report Questionnaire • Development of a New Symptom Report Questionnaire. • The aim was to develop a holistic measure for the symptom reporting process. • The symptom report consists of 66 symptoms. • Based on the Pennebaker Inventory of Linguid Languidness (1982), which was later adapted by Gijsbers van Wijk & Kolk (1996). • In addition to ‘frequency of symptoms’ the questionnaire asks about the following symptom constructs: • Duration of symptom • Severity of symptom • Worry as a result of symptom • Disruption to daily life due to symptom • The questionnaire will allow examination of the relationships between symptom frequency and the symptom related constructs. • Table 1. Correlations of the symptom constructs. • FINDINGS. • Linear multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate which variables predicted frequency of symptoms. Males and females were analysed together and independently. • Males & Females. • Males. • Females. • Conclusion. • Frequency was not highly correlated with duration, severity, worry or disruption. Suggests these are additional components. • Females reported more physical symptoms than males. • Findings suggest that men report symptoms typically when internal focus is heightened, whereas the process may be influenced by stress and emotional factors in females. • Acknowledgements: This project has been funded by the HSE (contract no. 6045). • Gender was a significant predictor of symptom reporting, indicating that females reported more symptoms than males. • Negative affect, PBC and Cognitive Failures were all significant predictors, suggesting that individuals with increased negative mood and internally focused attention reported more symptoms. Gender ( = .245)** No. of health Problems ( = .174)* Frequency of symptoms (R ² = 0.269)** Negative Affect ( = .166)* Private Body Consciousness ( = .170)* Cognitive Failures ( = .178)** No. of health problems ( = .360)** • For males, number of health problems and both variables relating to attention to the self were found to be significant predictors of symptom reporting. Private Body Consciousness ( = .309)** Frequency of symptoms (R ² = 0.285)** Cognitive Failures ( = .255)** • For females, negative affectivity and number of hassles (stressors) were found to be the strongest predictors of symptom reporting. Negative Affect ( = .247)* Frequency of symptoms (R ² = 0.137)** Student Hassles ( = .202)