EnglishCyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology Vol.6 Issue.3
Doi:10.35365/ctjpp.24.3.07
RESEARCH ARTICLE / ARAŞTIRMA YAZISI
The Mediator Role of Experiential Avoidance in the Relationship between Perceived Stress and Somatic Symptoms
Algılanan Stres ve Somatik Semptomlar Arasındaki İlişkide Deneyimsel Kaçınmanın Aracı Rolü
Erinç Erbildim1 Gabriel E. Nweke2
Abstract:
Experiential avoidance is a coping strategy that is adopted so often when dealing with unwanted internal experiences, such as emotions, thoughts and memories. Experiential avoidance is associated with mental disorders, such as depression and PTSD, as well as the manifestation of somatic symptoms despite providing short-term relief. This study aimed to explore the mediator role of experiential avoidance in the relationship between perceived stress and somatic symptoms. Data were collected from 371 participants who filled out the survey on online platforms. The survey consisted of demographic form and scales for experiential avoidance, perceived stress and somatic symptoms. SPSS version 23 was used to analyse data. Pearson correlation, descriptive statistics and mediation analysis were employed. According to the research analysis, it was revealed that experiential avoidance had a mediator role in the relationship between perceived stress and somatic symptoms’ intensity. Furthermore, three variables were significantly correlated with each other. Experiential avoidance as a coping strategy with perceived stress was a mediator for the manifestation of somatic symptoms burden. The results will guide mental health professionals and individuals with chronic somatic symptom burden, such as headaches, dizziness and fibromyalgia, to adopt more acceptance-based strategies in dealing with stressful situations.
Keywords: Perceived stress, Experiential avoidance, Somatic symptom, Mindfulness, Somatization, Fibromyalgia
1Research Assist., Bahçeşehir Cyprus University, Nicosia, TRN Cyprus, [email protected] ORCID ID: 0009-0005-9958-1849
2Assist. Prof., Girne American University, Kyrenia, TRN Cyprus, [email protected], ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2067-4494
Address of Correpondence/Yazışma Adresi: Erinç Erbildim, Bahçeşehir Cyprus University, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Psychology Department, Lefkoşa-Kıbrıs, Mersin 10 – Türkiye, E-mail: [email protected]
Date of Received/Geliş Tarihi: 20.03.2024, Date of Revision/Düzeltme Tarihi: 05.07.2024, Date of Acceptance/Kabul Tarihi: 14.08.2024, Date of Online Publication/Çevirimiçi Yayın Tarihi: 25.09.2024
Citing/Referans Gösterimi: Erbildim, E. & Nweke, G. E. (2024). The Mediator Role of Experiential Avoidance in the Relationship between Perceived Stress and Somatic Symptoms. Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry & Psychology, 6(3): 255-261.
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Cyprus Mental Health Institute / Cyprus Turkish Journal of Psychiatry and Psychology (www.ktppdergisi.com). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/