The Potential Buffering Role of Psychological Flexibility and Trait Self-Control against Somatic Symptoms and Poor Physical and Mental Health

Abstract

People with somatic symptoms and poor health tend to adopt a lifestyle of disability, because they avoid symptom-inducing activities. Both principles of cognitive-behavioural therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy are commonly used to manage somatic symptoms and poor health. Two skills that can be considered prototypical for these therapies are trait selfcontrol and psychological flexibility. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to get insight into the potential buffering role of trait self-control and psychological flexibility against somatic symptoms and poor physical and mental health. The participants (n = 318, 71% female, mean age 44) completed the online questionnaire that included the Flexibility Index Test (FIT-60), Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS), Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) and the RAND Short Form 36 (SF-36). People with higher psychological flexibility had fewer somatic symptoms (t = -8.13, p < .001), better physical health (t = 4.87, p < .001) and better mental health (t = 17.48, p < .001). People with higher trait self-control had better physical health (t = 2.40, p = .02). The combination of both higher psychological flexibility and higher trait self-control was not associated with somatic symptoms (t = 0.79, p = .43), physical health (t = -0.71, p = .48) and mental health (t = 0.94, p = .35). The findings suggest that it would be valuable to get insight into the causality of the associations, by testing interventions aimed at decreasing somatic symptoms and increasing physical and mental health with psychological flexibility and self-control.