ArticlePsychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy2018
Predictors of somatic symptom severity: The role of cumulative history of trauma and adversity in a diverse community sample.
Article in Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Structural alterations in functional neurological disorder and related conditions: a software and hardware problem?NeuroImage. Clinical · 2019Pooled it
- The Relationship of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder to End-of-life Care Received by Dying Veterans: a Secondary Data Analysis.Journal of general internal medicine · 2020Trial
- Somatic symptoms among trauma-exposed North Korean defectors: prevalence, correlates, and implications.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Parental upheaval experienced in childhood and its effect on pain-related cognitions across the lifespan: an exploratory investigation.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Trauma exposure as a predictor of general health outcomes and trauma-related beliefs among older adults living in an adverse environment.Aging & mental health · 2025Article
- Somatic symptoms among young adults: an observational study examining the roles of trauma type and psychological distress.BMC psychology · 2025Observational
- Relationship between traumatic events, somatization, psychological distress, and quality of life in female refugees in Germany.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Psychological factors associated with Long COVID: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2024Article
- Intersectional inequalities in somatic symptom severity in the adult population in Germany found within the SOMA.SOC study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- s-CAPE trauma recovery program: the need for a holistic, trauma- and violence-informed domestic violence framework.Frontiers in global women's health · 2024Review
- Cumulative Trauma Exposure and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms among Older Adults in South Africa: Does Post-Traumatic Growth Moderate this Link?Journal of aggression, maltreatment & trauma · 2024Article
- The relationship between lifecourse traumatic events and pain in an older rural South African population: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2024Article
- Do Migration and Acculturation Impact Somatization? A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Article
- How Mental Health Professionals Can Address Disparities in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic.Traumatology · 2021Article
- Mental health ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic for Black Americans: Clinical and research recommendations.Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy · 2020Article
- The Impact of Sexual and Interpersonal Violence and Trauma on Women: Trauma-Informed Practice and Feminist Theory.Journal of feminist family therapy · 2020Article
- Attention to the body! Comparing the connection between interoceptive abilities and somatic complaints of women with and without history of intimate partner violence.Women's health (London, England)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveSomatic symptoms are often reported among victims of trauma, and place a significant burden on primary care health providers. We examined the relationship between lifetime histories of trauma and adversity, including aspects not previously studied (i.e., perceived discrimination), and somatic symptoms, as well as the mediating role of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depressive symptoms.
methodA multiethnic community sample of 500 male and female participants (230 African American and 270 Latino) completed measures of demographic characteristics, the University of California, Los Angeles Lifetime Adversities Screener (LADS), depressive symptoms, PTSS, and somatic symptoms.
resultsAn ordinary least-squares regression analysis controlling for age, gender, and race/ethnicity indicated that higher levels of lifetime adversity and trauma were significantly associated with more severe somatic symptoms (b = 6.95, p < .0001). Formal mediation tests indicated that there was a significant indirect effect of LADS on somatic symptoms via PTSS and depressive symptoms, indirect effect = 2.64 (95% confidence interval [CI] [1.2, 4.1]) and 2.19 (95% CI [1.3, 3.3]), respectively. Even after PTSS and depressive symptoms were taken into account, the LADS remained significantly associated with somatic symptoms (b = 2.13, p < .05), suggesting partial mediation.
conclusionExposure to traumatic and adverse events (the LADS) was associated with somatic symptom severity. Furthermore, although PTSS and depressive symptoms partially accounted for the association between the LADS and somatic symptoms, the LADS remained significant, suggesting that both exposure to trauma and adversity and the resultant development of PTSS and depressive symptoms influence the development of somatic symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record
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