Body talk: personality organization and somatic symptoms in adolescence

Introduction: Adolescence is a crucial developmental stage in which the need to upgrade and integrate personality aspects such as identity integration, interpersonal relations and affect regulation emerges. Within this context, research, in order to understand the steps that lead to the development of personality disorders (PDs), highlights the significance of personality traits for psychological development as well as how impairment in identity integration resulted predictive of PDs in adults. In particular, given that during adolescence it is crucial to integrate changes of self-image related both to mental and bodily experiences, few studies have explored the relationship between identity integration in adolescence and the presence of somatic symptoms. Method: Up to now, in a sample of 80 adolescents we measured personality traits (Personality Inventory for DSM-5, PID-5), personality functioning (Severity Indices of Personality Problems-118, SIPP-118), psychological distress and somatic symptoms (Symptom Checklist 90-R, SCL-90-R). Results: Results suggest that personality traits are related to somatic symptoms. Furthermore, identity functioning seems to play a crucial role in this association. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance to strengthen our understanding of the complex relationship between the severity of personality functioning and somatic symptoms manifestations during adolescence.