The Stress Coping Strategies and Cognitive Characteristics of Somatic Symptom Perception in Patients with Panic Disorder

공황장애 환자의 스트레스 대처방식과 신체 증상 지각에 대한 인지적 특성

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the strategies used to cope with stress and the cognitive characteristics of somatic symptom perception in patients with panic disorder. Methods : A total of 101 patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for panic disorder and 60 normal controls were recruited for participation in this study. We evaluated the subjects using The Way of Stress Coping Questionnaire (SCQ), Somato-Sensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), Symptom Interpretation Questionnaire (SIQ), and the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS). We analyzed the data using an independent t-test and Pearson correlation analysis (p<0.05). Results : The patients who used emotionally focused coping strategies scored significantly lower on the SCQ. The patients with panic disorder showed greater amplification of body sensations in the SSAS, a significantly higher score on the physical interpretation subset of the SIQ, and a lower score on the environmental interpretation subset of the SIQ than the normal controls. The PDSS scores were positively correlated with the SSAS score and physical interpretation score on the SIQ. Conclusion : These results show that patients with panic disorder have poor emotionally focused strategies for coping with stress, greater amplification of body sensations, and a tendency towards a physical interpretation of somatic symptoms.