[Consistency and inconsistency of psychosomatic symptoms in adolescents]

Abstract

The term psychosomatic is sometimes mistakenly used as a virtual synonym of "somatoform", whereas there is a structural difference between alexythymia and hysteria. In adolescent psychopathology, where the interpretation of phenomena follows a dynamic and relational pattern, it is difficult to draw a distinction between psychosomatosis and hysteria. Pathological expressivities are often transient and do not depend on the course of an illness, despite being linked to moments of juvenile crisis in which the structural and dynamic reorganisation of the personality accentuates some regressive aspects of defensive operations. The body and its changes represents a motor of development or crisis according to how stimuli and personal and relational experiences are integrated in the image of self, which is in turn an instrument of the structuring of the identity in as far as it represents real and imagined physical aspects, both conscious and unconscious. The importance of the body in the maturation process is such that from the quality of an adolescent's relationship with his or her own body it is possible to trace the modes of development and identify the severity and extent of a psychopathological condition. It follows that body-centered symptoms are among the most frequently found in adolescence. Negative counter-attitudes by the adult in relation to the insufficiently integrated sexual and aggressive impulses sometimes shown by adolescents further underline the need to search for a type of communication which is accepted and therefore compatible with the construction of an acceptable self-image; the body therefore becomes a language used in communicating with the adult to express unease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)