Understanding Clinical Depression through Somatic Symptoms among Depressive Adults: Gender and Education in Consideration

Abstract

The most prevalent mental health disorder is depression, although it is not always presented in the same form. The type of depression that presents itself through somatic symptoms cannot be detected by mental health professionals, hence requires scrutiny before categorizing the clients as having a psychiatric issue. Therefore, the current study sought to examine these variables by employing the Somatic Symptom Scale (SSS-8) to evaluate the somatic symptoms and diagnosed clients of depression. The study was conducted with a sample of 150 depressed patients (Male=43%, Female= 57%) selected from the outdoor patient (Psychiatry) department of hospitals in Rawalpindi/Islamabad. The results of the study revealed that there was a positive correlation between the study variables. This research also assumed that patients with depression have high somatic symptoms and that the male participants will show more somatic symptoms than the female participants. Analysis of results confirmed that the mean number of somatic symptoms in men (M=20. 86) was significantly higher than that of women (M=18. 12) p> 0. undefined Furthermore, the findings also showed that the illiterate patients with depression were having more somatic symptoms M = 21. 72 than the literate patients M = 18. 20. The current study would be helpful for mental health professionals to comprehend the personality characteristics of patients regarding the treatment of depression. Also, they can develop better therapeutic approaches to address the somatic symptoms of clinical depression.