Emotion understanding in children with frequent somatic complaints

The assumption that an impaired ability to identify and express emotions (“alexithymia”) is related to a lack of physical well-being in children was investigated. Two groups of children (mean age 10 years), who differed in their reported frequency of somatic complaints, were asked to fill out a mood questionnaire and respond to emotion-evoking situations. The findings showed that the number of somatic complaints in children was unrelated to their ability to identify their own emotions when asked about hypothetical conflicting situations. Yet, both groups identified different emotions. Children with more somatic complaints reported more fear and fewer anger reactions. They also reported experiencing more negative emotion-evoking situations with peers.

Fear suggests a stronger tendency for withdrawal, whereas the anger reaction of the healthier group implies a stronger tendency to approach (negative) emotion evoking situations. Consequently, the conflicting situation continues for the first group, whereas the second group will be more likely to solve it. Strong or long-lasting arousal has a negative effect on bodily functioning: it can disturb biological subsystems and bring about organic changes. The possibility that fewer social skills, for expressing emotions in a socially constructive way, or fewer coping strategies in the group who reported more somatic complaints also influence the intensity and duration of negative emotions is discussed.