Association Between Childhood Trauma and Somatization in a Clinical Sample: The Mediating Roles of Rumination, Cognitive Reappraisal, and Expressive Suppression

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the relationships among childhood trauma, somatization, depressive rumination, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression among a clinical sample through a mediation model approach. METHODS: Outpatients (n=125) with a diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety were included in our study. Childhood trauma, somatization, depressive rumination, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression were assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R), Korean-Ruminative Response Scale (K-RRS), and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), respectively. RESULTS: Childhood trauma was associated with somatization symptoms mediated by depressive rumination and cognitive reappraisal. In particular, emotional abuse was positively associated with somatization mediated by a depressive rumination. However, the mediating effect of expressive suppression on the relationship between childhood trauma and somatization was not significant. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that depressive rumination is a key element affecting somatization symptoms in clinical patients who experienced emotional abuse.