Development and validation of the antecedents of somatic symptoms disorder questionnaire

Somatic symptom disorder is a culturally dependent form of disorder, and culturally appropriate tools are necessary for its assessment, diagnosis, and treatment. Although various studies emphasize the influence of culture on the factors and fields effective in the formation of somatic symptoms disorder, However, few studies have developed a suitable test to evaluate the factors and fields of Somatic symptom disorder in iranian culture.

The present study was conducted with the aim of development and validating the questionnaire of the Antecedents of somatic symptom disorder (causal and contextual) in the Iranian society.

In terms of purpose, the present research is fundamental-applicative, in terms of gathering information, it is survey-questionnaire, and in terms of methodology, it is considered among test-making studies, which was carried out in the form of a correlational research project. The statistical population of the research included all people over 18 years of age in Tehran in 2023. The statistical sample size was 915 adults who were selected by available sampling method. To collect data, a researcher-made questionnaire on the antecedents of somatic symptom disorder, which was derived from a qualitative research, was used. Data analysis was done using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the first and second type to check the construct validity and principal component analysis method using SPSS-24 and AMOS-24 software.

The findings of this research showed that the questionnaire of the antecedents of somatic symptom disorder in iranian society has favorable psychometric characteristics. The results of factor analysis showed that this questionnaire has 4 subscales of dictatorial parenting, dysfunctional couple relations, emotional and cognitive characteristics of childhood. Using Cronbach's alpha, the values of the internal consistency coefficient were found to be 0.922 for dictatorial parenting, 0.929 for dysfunctional couple relationships, 0.842 for the child's feelings, and 0.846 for the child's thoughts.

According to the obtained results, it is suggested that specialists in medical centers use the questionnaire of the antecedents of somatic symptom disorder to evaluate, diagnose and prepare a treatment plan for somatic symptom disorder in iranian society.