engleski

Self-Assessment of the Psychosomatic Symptoms and Quality of Life in Primary Ashool Students

Psychosomatic symptoms in children due to disturbed family relationships and young people’s lifestyle, and manifested as vascular, respiratory, endocrinological, gastrointestinal and dermatological symptoms rise. Incidence of physical symptoms, as reactions to stressful events, indicators of mental disorders and one of the symptoms of the acute illnesses and chronic conditions syndrome, is 20- 69% in children. Quality of life as own subjective experience, personality characteristics and specific life experiences, more often refers to adults than to children and adolescents. The aim was to analyse relationship between the number, frequency and intensity of psychosomatic symptoms and self- assessment of quality of life of students in higher primary school grades. Students of both gender (fifth to the eighth grade (N = 160) anonymously assessed incidence of psychosomatic symptoms and their quality of life on the Psychosomatic Symptoms Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents - PSS and the Personal Wellbeing Index for children and adolescents - PWI-SC. On the list of 35 symptoms- PSS questionnaire (cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, dermatological, pseudoneurological and other), and three additional questions about health status, students assessed the frequency of symptoms in the last three months, regarding the degree of interference with daily activities. Quality of life- PWI-SC, was assessed in seven areas: material well-being, health, achievement, interpersonal relations, security, connectivity and community affiliation and security in future. The analysis of results is conducted regarding gender, frequency and intensity of psychosomatic symptoms, their relationship with selfassed quality of life, in terms of the influence on the mental health of children. Respecting gender differences, obtained results show intercorrelation between frequency and intensity of psychosomatic symptoms, perceived quality of life and mental health of primary school children. Such results show the need for support program for children and adolescents who perceive low quality of life and exhibit high intensity of psychosomatic symptoms in order to preserve mental health of primary school children.

self-assessment, psychosomatic symptoms, quality of life, primary school students, mental health of children.

nije evidentirano