Chronic somatic complaints in adolescents: prevalence, predictive validity of the parent reports, and associations with social class, health status, and psychosocial distress

Purpose Chronic somatic complaint (CSC) can cause significant impairment of psychosocial functioning and therefore is of considerable interest in medicine, psychology, and related health sciences. To date, the type, distribution, and associated factors of CSC have been examined in only a limited number of studies. Main research questions of this investigation focused on the prevalence of CSC, the predictive validity of parent reports, and the associations with social class, health status, and psychosocial distress. Methods Data were obtained from a population-based, German-wide representative Health Survey (N = 1,027 self-reports, and parent reports from 11- to 18-year-olds). In addition to study-specific items, the standardized Giessen Physical Complaints Inventory for Children and Adolescents was used (GPCI). Results The most frequent CSCs in self-report forms were skin impurities/pimples, cold hands, and fatigue; older adolescents, especially females, were at a higher risk for CSC. The sensitivity of parent reports in all complaints observed was very low (Med = 0.21) and specificity varied between 0.94 and 1.00. Parents significantly underestimated CSC that were not externally observable, as well as CSC in males. Across different predictors and CSC dimensions, psychosocial distress showed the highest predictive value. Conclusions The results provide data regarding the subjective physical health of adolescents, as well as an empirical reference to evaluate the distribution of chronic symptoms in specific clinical populations (which is needed for prevention and treatment).