Why do some psychiatric patients somatize?

A study was made of a series of 139 outpatients referred by the medical and surgical services of a general hospital for evaluation by the psychiatry unit. In accordance with established criteria, this population was divided into somatizers (56) and non-somatizers (75), and the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of both groups were comparatively analyzed. The results show that the group of somatizers was younger, had more histrionic personality traits and more stress factors related with alterations in interpersonal relationships or death or disease of relatives. It is emphasized that somatization is poorly known by psychiatrists--whose diagnostic criteria practically omit these aspects--and by other physicians, in spite of its importance and frequency.