Objective. To determine mental health risk factors related to somatic
symptoms, common in adolescence. Design. Cross-sectional study. Settin
g. Ten schools, corresponding approximately to US senior high schools,
in two cities in Finland. Subjects. A total of 1429 adolescents with
no serious disease or injury during the previous 12 months. Results. F
requent or rather frequent occurrence of two or more symptoms was repo
rted by 44% of the female students and 28% of the male students during
the past 6 months. Regression analyses showed that among female stude
nts, somatic symptoms were associated positively with serious illness
or injury in the family, an increased number of arguments between pare
nts, and breaking up with boyfriends or girlfriends; among male studen
ts, symptoms were associated with an increased absence of a parent fro
m the home and trouble with siblings; and among both sexes, they were
associated with failing examinations. Among male students, changing to
new schools was associated with fewer symptoms. Symptom scores associ
ated positively with trait anxiety, trait depression, an immature defe
nse style, and alcohol or drug use among both sexes. Among male studen
ts, smoking was associated with more symptoms, and among female studen
ts, high self-esteem was associated with fewer symptoms. Conclusions.
These findings suggest that mental health risk factors are strong corr
elates of somatic symptoms among adolescents with no serious disease.
Follow-up studies are needed to clarify the predictive value of these
factors.