SEX-DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS - THE CONTRIBUTION OF SYMPTOM PERCEPTION THEORY

Health surveys, studies on physical symptom reporting, and medical reg istration of physical complaints find consistent sex differences in sy mptom reporting, with women having the higher rates. By and large, thi s female excess of physical symptoms is independent from the symptom m easure, response format and time frame used, and the population under study. As most studies concern healthy individuals, the sex difference can not simply be attributed to a greater physical morbidity in women . In this paper we propose a number of explanations for this phenomeno n, based on a biopsychosocial perspective on symptom perception. We di scuss a symptom perception model that brings together factors and proc esses from the extant literature which are thought to affect symptom r eporting, such as somatic information, selection of information throug h attention and distraction, attribution of somatic sensations, and th e personality factors somatisation and negative affectivity. Finally, we discuss the explanations for sex differences in physical symptoms t hat arise from the model. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.