ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors present some of the results of their research in Manchester concerned with an assessment of the following three factors. First, the prevalence of sub-acute somatization in patients aged over 15 years consulting their family doctor with a new illness. Second, the extent to which this mode of presentation accounts for ‘hidden psychiatric morbidity’ in primary care. Third, the potential determinants of this form of somatization. The presentation of somatic symptoms can distract the attention of a doctor away from considering a psychiatric illness and may lead to an unnecessary utilization of non-psychiatric health-care services. Some patients when interviewed did not attribute their somatic complaints to a physical disorder but believed them to be due to psychological disturbance. The somatizers and psychologizers were similar in other respects, including features of their personality and upbringing, their responses to the Parental Bonding Instrument, and their memories of childhood, illness-related experiences.
