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Interconnections Among Perceived Stress, Social Problem Solving, and Gastrointestinal Symptom Severity

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Abstract

Maladaptive social problem-solving (SPS) plays a significant mediating role in the negative impact of stressful life events on wellbeing. With a basis in D’Zurilla and Nezu’s (Problem-solving therapies, 2nd ed., The Guilford Press, New York, pp. 211–245, 2001) relational/problem-solving model of stress and wellbeing, we examined interrelations amongst stress, SPS, and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and tested several mediational models: maladaptive forms of SPS as mediators of the relationship between stress and GI symptoms, and stress as a mediator of maladaptive forms of SPS and GI symptoms. Undergraduates (N = 345) completed the Perceived Stress Scale, the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised, and the Birmingham IBS Symptom Questionnaire. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed that all measures were significantly related in the expected directions. Stress was a significant mediator in the models with maladaptive SPS dimensions as independent variables, but SPS did not mediate the stress/GI symptom relationship. Results demonstrate links amongst stress, SPS, and GI symptoms, and suggest that poorer SPS leads to higher levels of stress, which, in turn, increases GI symptom severity.

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Acknowledgements

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA

    Natalie M. Roy, Rebecca Schwartz-Mette & Douglas W. Nangle

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  1. Natalie M. Roy
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  2. Rebecca Schwartz-Mette
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  3. Douglas W. Nangle
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Correspondence to Natalie M. Roy.

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Roy, N.M., Schwartz-Mette, R. & Nangle, D.W. Interconnections Among Perceived Stress, Social Problem Solving, and Gastrointestinal Symptom Severity. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 38, 330–344 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-019-00331-5

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