Developing a Structural Model of Somatic Symptom Disorder Based on Stressful Organizational Variables Mediated by Self-Regulatory Processes in Clinical Samples of Police Officers

One of the main reasons for clinical referrals is the complaint of physical symptoms described in the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) as Somatic Symptom Disorder. This study aimed to determine the fit of the structural model of the relationship between somatic symptoms disorder and stressful organizational variables mediated by self-regulatory processes in a clinical sample of patients diagnosed with somatic symptoms disorder.

The statistical population consisted of all patients with somatic symptom disorder who had referred to the hospitals and health centers of police in Tehran, Iran, during the first six months of 2019. Of this population, 30 people were selected by the purposive method. The instruments used in the study were a questionnaire for somatic symptom disorders, a short form of the Iranian Police Stress Scale, a self-regulatory scale, a screening questionnaire, and a structured clinical interview to assess DSM-5 disorders, all of which had good validity and reliability. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the obtained data using the SPSS 23 and PLS 2 software.

The results of structural equation modeling confirmed the mediating role of self-regulatory processes in the relationship between stressful organizational variables and somatic symptom disorder. The overall model fit (GOF) in the sample group was 0.490, and the model fitted the data. Findings showed that mission organizational variables had more effect on physical symptoms than non-mission organizational variables. Additionally, the initial hypothetical model had a good fit with the observed data, and the stressful organizational variables explained more variance of physical symptoms through self-regulation.

If police officers use self-regulatory strategies, they can better avoid the effects of organizational stress on physical symptoms. This feature plays a mediating role in the relationship between stressful organizational variables and physical symptoms, and reduces the effect of stress on individuals.