My peers, my friend, and I: Peer interactions and somatic complaints in boys and girls

Abstract

In this article we present two studies about the relations between peer relationships and somatic complaints in children in Den Bosch, the Netherlands. In the first study (n = 711), when the children were average 10 years old, we focused on social status as rated by classmates (popular, neglected, controversial, rejected, and average), self-reported social anxiety and somatic complaints. The second study (n = 688) conducted 1.5 years later on the same sample, focused on possible positive influences of best friends on somatic complaints. We analyzed how reciprocity of the friendship, self-reported disclosure with the nominated best friend and self-reported emotion communication skill were related to children's somatic complaints. The results indicate an influence of peer interactions on somatic complaints. Social anxiety was associated with more somatic complaints, but peer status was unrelated to somatic complaints. Further, for girls with a reciprocated best friend, emotion communication skill was related to fewer somatic complaints. For boys emotion communication skill was negatively associated with somatic complaints when their friendship was unreciprocated, whereas disclosure with the nominated peer was related to the experience of more complaints in this case. The results indicate different associations of the sharing of emotions among boys and girls with regard to somatic complaints. It should be noted that self-reports on relationships and health may overlap more than classmates' reports of peer status because of shared method variance.

Introduction

Many children experience somatic complaints, such as abdominal pain and headaches, especially in middle childhood and adolescence (Perquin et al., 2000, Petersen et al., 2003). These common complaints can be best understood using a biopsychosocial model (Kaptein, Appels, & Orth-Gomer, 2000). In this model, biomedical, psychological and social factors are considered as possible influences on the perception of somatic complaints. Although it may be obvious that biomedical factors do have an influence, the literature shows that psychological or social influences can also have an impact on the experience of complaints. Better insight into psychosocial influences in addition to medical studies can help understanding the frequency of somatic complaints in childhood.

In response to stress or negative affect, humans experience physiological reactions such as an increased heart rate, perspiration, and muscle tension. These reactions are normal and facilitate responding (Kraaimaat & Van den Bergh, 2000). Yet, physiological reactions have the potential to change biological parameters and can contribute to the development of somatic complaints over longer and/or more intense periods of negative affect (Bhatia and Tandon, 2005, Charmandari et al., 2005, Vingerhoets and Perski, 2000). Several studies have demonstrated that even in childhood, negative affect is associated with more somatic complaints (Campo et al., 2004, Diepenmaat et al., 2006, Jellesma et al., 2006, Muris and Meesters, 2004). In addition, several psychological variables that contribute to increased negative affect are related to the experience of more somatic complaints. For example, maladaptive coping (Compas et al., 2006, Walker et al., 2007) and low perceived emotional intelligence (Mavroveli, Petrides, Rieffe, & Bakker, 2007) are associated with more negative affect and somatic complaints.

Besides psychological variables, social factors also have the potential of increasing negative affect. This is especially true for children in middle childhood and adolescence, when peers become more important and adult supervision of peer interactions decreases (Gifford-Smith & Brownell, 2003). For example, it has been shown that children who are disliked by many children in their classroom have more symptoms of depression (Oldehinkel, Rosmalen, Veenstra, Dijkstra, & Ormel, 2007). Moreover, children who experience problems with classmates report more symptoms of anxiety (Barrett & Heubeck, 2000). Yet to date, the influence of peer acceptance in relationship to somatic complaints has received little attention. Still, especially when it concerns interactions in the classroom, it might be expected that there is a negative association between acceptance and somatic complaints. After all, children spend a substantial part of the week in the classroom. If relationships with classmates are problematic, children can experience negative affect quite frequently or even chronically, increasing the likelihood of somatic complaints. Indeed, self-reported problems with peers in the classroom seem to be associated with more somatic complaints (Gadin and Hammarstrom, 2003, Murberg and Bru, 2004, Odegaard et al., 2003). However, this relationship has not yet been studied with measures of peer acceptance from peers themselves. In addition, boys and girls feel differently about interpersonal behavior. For instance, girls experience relational aggression as more hurtful than physical aggression and girls who show relational aggression are more likely to be rejected by their peers than boys (Crick, 1996). Gender differences should therefore be taken into account. In our first study, we focused on peer status in the classroom in relationship to somatic complaints in girls and boys.

Based on the outcomes of the first study, a second mechanism was identified through which relationships in the classroom could influence the experience of somatic complaints. In the second study we focused on children's friendships. Friendships serve the purpose of emotional security and support (Gifford-Smith & Brownell, 2003). As children get older, friendships are increasingly determined by intimacy and disclosure (the sharing of personal experiences and feelings). In middle childhood and adolescence, best friendships are formed, friendships with a single, favored peer (Sullivan, 1953). As these friendships are more intimate, they could be helpful in decreasing negative affect. Moreover, talking about emotions with a best friend can increase a feeling of support and provide new strategies for coping with negative situations. Close friends can thus influence children's well-being (LaFreniere, 2000). There are gender differences in the perception of friendships. Girls appreciate their friendships more than boys and report more intimacy (Parker & Asher, 1993). Therefore, in the second study, we investigated possible positive effects of a best friend on the experience of somatic complaints in boys and girls in the same sample 1.5 years later.