THE PREDICTION OF SOMATIC COMPLAINTS USING THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS-SYSTEM RESPONSE INVENTORY (ANSRI) AND THE DAILY STRESS INVENTORY (DSI)

Understanding and prediction of veridical somatic complaints not caused by disease, dysfunction, trauma, or toxin, requires the assessment of at least two critical variables: predisposition to respond to stressors with peripheral physiological activation; and intensity/frequency/duration of stressors. The Autonomic Nervous System Response Inventory (ANSRI) and the Daily Stress Inventory (DSI) were used to assess these variables, and somatic complaints were recorded using the Wahler Physical Symptoms Inventory (WPSI). Subjects were 72 healthy undergraduates who completed the inventories and reported illness and medication usage over a 2 week period. Regression analyses showed that ANSRI, DSI, illness, and medication accounted for 35% of the variance in somatic complaints, though only ANSRI and DSI contributed significantly. Neuroticism (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire) did not add to R2, but did influence stressors' subjective impact. The correlation between regression equation-generated WPSI scores (derivation sample) and actual WPSI scores (holdout sample) was 0.59. A discriminant function analysis equation (derivation sample) applied to the holdout sample correctly classified 80% of the upper and lower third WPSI subjects. It was concluded that the ANSRI and DSI, and the variables they assess, are substantially related to the self-report of somatic complaints.