Medica Jadertina, Vol. 51 No. 3, 2021.
Original scientific paper
Lying to myself that I feel just fine makes my gut sick: gastrointestinal symptoms explained by experiental avoidance
Ines Amber Kincaid
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology
Abstract
Objective: To analyze the correlation between sociodemographic variables, emotional states (anxiety, depression), emotion regulation strategies (experiential avoidance, emotion suppression) and acute gastrointestinal symptoms.
Method: On a convenience sample of 186 subjects, data on acute gastrointestinal symptoms, emotions (depression and anxiety), emotion regulation strategies (emotion supression and experiential avoidance) and sociodemographic variables have been gathered using a Physical health questionnaire (PHQ), Zung depression scale, State trait anxiety inventory (STAI), Emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ) and Brief experiential avoidance questionnaire (BEAQ). Data was analyzed by multiple hierarchical regression. In the final model 32% of variance of acute gastrointestinal symptoms was explained, and statistically significant predictors were depression and experiential avoidance. Higher levels of depression and experiential avoidance were associated with more frequent acute gastrointestinal symptoms.
Conclusion: A high prevalence of clinically relevant symptoms of anxiety (63%) and depression (41%), as well as a positive correlation between emotion, emotion regulation strategies and acute gastrointestinal symptoms emphasize the importance of providing psychological support to patients with gastrointestinal system disorders. Independent contribution of experiential avoidance to the prediction of acute gastrointestinal symptoms shows that in order to understand the psychological aspect of gastrointestinal symptoms it is important to have insight not only into emotions, but also into the way they are being regulated.
Keywords
acute gastrointestinal symptoms; anxiety; depression; experiental avoidance; emotion supression
Hrčak ID:
263148
URI
Publication date:
6.10.2021.
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