Violence Exposure, Somatic Complaints, and Health Care Utilization in a Pediatric Sample

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of child-reported violence exposure, somatic complaints, trauma-related internalizing symptoms, and health care utilization in a pediatric sample. Ninety children aged 9 to 13 completed the Children's Somatization Inventory, the Trauma Symptom Checklist, and the KID-SAVE. Health care utilization data were obtained for the year prior to recruitment. Sixty-two percent of the variance of child-reported somatic complaints was predicted by child gender, higher scores on the Physical/Verbal Abuse scale of the KID-SAVE, and higher rates of internalizing symptoms. No differences in these variables were found between high and low utilizers of health care.