Is childhood trauma a risk factor for somatization symptoms among young adults?

INTRODUCTION Childhood trauma is associated with long-term adverse mental and physical health outcomes, including somatic symptoms; however, this relationship has been underexplored among young adults in India. This study aimed to assess the association between childhood trauma and somatization in young adults.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted using Google Forms among 850 college students. Somatization was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15), childhood trauma was measured with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), and personality traits were evaluated using the Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10).

Results

Of the 467 participants (55% response rate; mean age 21.9 years; 54.6% female), 39% reported experiencing childhood trauma. The prevalence of childhood trauma was significantly higher among somatizers (63.0%) compared to nonsomatizers (30.7%) (adjusted odds ratio, aOR = 2.58; 95% CI: 1.59-4.21). This association was particularly strong for emotional abuse (aOR = 3.92; 95% CI: 2.08-7.38) and sexual abuse (aOR = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.11-3.39), as shown by multivariable binomial logistic regression analysis. Additionally, there was a significant trend of increasing somatization severity with a greater number of childhood trauma types (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Childhood trauma, especially emotional and sexual abuse, was strongly associated with somatization among young adults. These findings underscore the importance of screening for trauma and the development of trauma-focused interventions in this population.