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Stress and Somatic Symptoms pp 105–114Cite as

Psychosociocultural Mechanisms of Somatization

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Abstract

Psychosociocultural mechanisms of somatization can largely be grouped into psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural factors. Psychological factors include personality development, anxiety, depression, anger and anger management style, illness anxiety, inhibition of emotion, alexithymia, communication and defense, and amplification of somatic sensation. Behavioral factors include learning and gain. Social factors include sick role, doctor-patient relationship, and stigma of psychiatric diagnoses. Cultural factors include inhibition of emotional expression in Korean and Chinese cultures. Furthermore, multifactorial interactions should be considered a motivation for somatization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    Kyung Bong Koh

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Koh, K.B. (2018). Psychosociocultural Mechanisms of Somatization. In: Stress and Somatic Symptoms. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02783-4_10

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