Somatic Symptoms as Mediating Factors between the Perceived Social Support and the Health-Related Quality of Life in North Korean Defectors

Somatic Symptoms as Mediating Factors between the Perceived Social Support and the Health-Related Quality of Life in North Korean Defectors

Psychiatry Investigation, July 2017

28845166

Sung-Doo Won, So Hee Lee, SeogJu Kim, Jin Yong Jun, Sang-Soo Shin

This study was conducted to examine the mediating effect of somatic symptoms between perceived social support and health-related quality of life among North Korean defectors living in South Korea. A total of 200 North Korean defectors were assessed using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Short-Form 8-Item Health Survey, the Patient Health Questionnaire 15, the PTSD Checklist Civilian Version and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9. Somatic symptoms accounted for physical health-related quality of life after controlling for PTSD and depressive symptoms, but did not for mental health-related quality of life. Moreover, somatic symptoms mediated the relationship between perceived social support and physical and mental health-related quality of life, indicating that perceived social support indirectly affects physical and mental health-related quality of life through somatic symptoms in North Korean defectors. The results of this study suggest that not only intervention for PTSD or depressive symptoms but also for somatic symptoms might be effective to improve physical and mental health-related quality of life for North Korean defectors, especially those who have a lack of perceived social support.