Personal identity, somatic symptoms, and symptom-related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in adolescence: Examining between- and within-person associations and the role of depressive symptoms

Recent literature highlights the complex relationship between personal identity and body-related pathology, yet there is a lack of integrative longitudinal research on the relationship between identity and somatic symptoms. The present study investigated the longitudinal associations between identit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of youth and adolescence 2023-09, Vol.52 (9), p.1933-1949
Main Authors: Raemen, Leni, Claes, Laurence, Buelens, Tinne, Vankerckhoven, Lore, Van Oudenhove, Lukas, Luyckx, Koen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescence
Adolescent
Adolescent Development
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Brain research
Child
Child and School Psychology
Child development
Clinical Psychology
Depression - psychology
Emotional distress
Empirical Research
Female
Health Psychology
History of Psychology
Humans
Identity
Identity formation
Interpersonal Relations
Law and Psychology
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Medically Unexplained Symptoms
Mental depression
Psychological distress
Psychology
Self concept
Somatoform disorders
Symptoms
Teenagers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Recent literature highlights the complex relationship between personal identity and body-related pathology, yet there is a lack of integrative longitudinal research on the relationship between identity and somatic symptoms. The present study investigated the longitudinal associations between identity functioning and (psychological characteristics of) somatic symptoms, and examined the role of depressive symptoms in this relationship. A total of 599 community adolescents (Time 1: 41.3% female; M age  = 14.93, SD = 1.77, range = 12–18 years) participated in three annual assessments. Using cross-lagged panel models, a bidirectional relationship between identity and (psychological characteristics of) somatic symptoms, mediated by depressive symptoms, emerged at the between-person level; whereas only a unidirectional relationship from psychological characteristics of somatic symptoms to identity functioning, mediated by depressive symptoms, emerged at the within-person level. Identity and depressive symptoms were bidirectionally related at both levels. The present study suggests that adolescent identity development is closely related to somatic and emotional distress.
ISSN:0047-2891
1573-6601
DOI:10.1007/s10964-023-01811-9