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The majority of somatic symptoms have unexplained medical causes, and it is claimed that psychological factors are important in the initiation and exacerbation of somatic complaints. This study, cross-sectional and correlational in nature, investigated the mediating role of eudaimonic well-being on the relationship between self-determination and somatic symptoms. Mediations were examined at both the whole-construct and component levels to better understand these relationships. A total of 486 participants took part in this study, comprising 403 females (82.9%) and 83 males (17.1%), with an age range of 18 to 36 years (M = 22, SD = 2.27). Self-determination, eudaimonic well-being, and somatic symptoms were measured using questionnaires. Mediations were tested at the construct and component levels using the PROCESS macro. The results show that eudaimonic well-being mediates the relationship between self-determination and somatic symptoms (b = −0.21, SE = 0.03, 95% CI = −0.32, −0.10). Component-level analyses reveal that the relationship between controlling motives and somatic symptoms is mediated by negative affect (b = 0.39, SE = 0.08, 95% CI 0.23, 0.56). These findings identify the variables that may explain the origin of somatic symptoms, emphasising self-determination as a starting point and eudaimonic well-being as a mechanism by which motivational factors affect health outcomes.
Marčinko et al. (Fri,) studied this question.