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Psychopathology in Women pp 813–824Cite as

Somatoform and Factitious Disorders

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Abstract

Gender seems to be a nuclear issue in the diagnosis and treatment of somatomorphic disorders. It is well known that the categorization of these disorders has some controversy. On one hand, this controversy shows the limitation of the mind-body dual model which underlies the western medical thinking, in some way overlooking that pain and corporal awareness are not divided from the subjective experience of self. This group of mental disorders has suffered several modifications as shown at the different editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diseases (DSM) although its validity and gender neutrality are still inconclusive. Firstly, in this chapter we analyze gender perspective related to somatization and in particular the somatoform disorder classification. Secondly, we describe somatoform disorders as in the classic terminology considering the new definition proposed in the last edition of DSM. Nevertheless, it is not clear that these new diagnostic criteria for somatoform disorders have reached gender neutrality.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain

    Julia García-Albea & Marta Navas-Tejedor

  2. Puerta de Hierro Hospital, Madrid, Spain

    Pedro García-Parajuá

Authors
  1. Julia García-Albea
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  2. Pedro García-Parajuá
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  3. Marta Navas-Tejedor
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cruces University Hospital, University of the Basque Country, Barakaldo, Vizcaya, Spain

    Margarita Sáenz-Herrero

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García-Albea, J., García-Parajuá, P., Navas-Tejedor, M. (2019). Somatoform and Factitious Disorders. In: Sáenz-Herrero, M. (eds) Psychopathology in Women. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15179-9_34

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15179-9_34

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