Royal College of Psychiatrists: Children of mothers with unexplained physical symptoms show more ‘health and safety’ needs

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Friday, 04, Jul 2008 12:00

Research supports environmental explanation for development of ‘somatising’ psychiatric disorder.

Somatising disorder is a psychiatric disorder in which people have many recurring physical symptoms without any physical illness that could explain them.

New research has found that children of mothers with a somatising disorder show more ‘health and safety’ needs than children of other mothers. This finding supports the theory for environmental influences in the development of somatisation.

It is known that abnormal ‘illness behaviours’ can be acquired through exposure to parental health anxiety in childhood. In a set of related studies, the researchers examined two hypotheses:

1. That the children of mothers who suffer from a somatising disorder have more contact with health services than the children of other mothers; and

2. That the interaction between somatising mothers and their children would show less joint involvement than other mothers during play, but greater responsiveness when this play involves a ‘medical’ theme or the expression of health and safety needs.

Three groups of mothers and children aged between four and eight years old were compared in a number of respects, including annual number of family doctor consultations. 48 mothers were suffering from chronic somatisation; 51 mothers had chronic physical illness; and 52 mothers were healthy.

136 of these mother-child pairs also participated in play tasks and a meal. These were videotaped and later analysed by the researchers for ‘joint attention’ and the presence of ‘needs’ and ‘offers of care’. The researchers were unaware of which group of mothers they were observing.

They found that the children of somatising mothers had more consultations with family doctors than did children of other mothers (average annual consultation rates: somatisers 4.9, physical illness 3.0 and healthy 2.8).

In the play and meal tasks, somatising mothers showed less emotion and there were lower rates of joint attention. These mothers were, however, more responsive to their child’s bids for attention during play with a medical theme than at other times, and expressed more health and safety needs during the meal than other mothers.

More of the children of somatising mothers expressed health and safety needs than did the children of other mothers.

The researchers conclude that somatising mothers and their children interact in ways that reinforce illness behaviours, supporting the environmental theory for the development of somatisation.

Reference:

Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Annual Meeting, Imperial College London 1 - 4 July 2008

For further information contact Prof Tom Craig, Institute of Psychiatry, London.

Tel: 020 7848 0736 or 07912 379 574.

E-mail: tom.craig@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Press Office: 020 7235 2351 exts. 298 or 127.

From 1-4 July, please call the Annual Meeting Press Office on 020 7594 8636 or 020 7594 1847.