SCREENING FOR SOMATIZING PATIENTS IN THE PULMONARY SUBSPECIALTY CLINIC

Somatizing patients present a history of vague, unexplained medical sy mptoms. This study compared somatizing patients with pulmonary control subjects by using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS-III-R), the Illness Attitude Scales (IAS), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personali ty Inventory (MMPI-2). The groups differed in the number of somatizati on symptoms reported and in the frequency of somatization disorder dia gnoses when the screening criteria were used. The somatizing group obt ained higher scores on the bodily preoccupation and hypochondriacal be liefs subscales of the IAS; no differences were found on the MMPI-2. T hese findings indicate that the DSM-III-R somatization screening items can be useful for detecting somatization when patients present with u nexplained respiratory complaints.