Soma Assessment Interview (SAI)

The Soma Assessment Interview (SAI) is a structured interview in which the number and severity of physical complaints can be assessed in children. Specifically, the SAI allows to investigate which symptoms cannot be explained by a known physical illness (functional complaints). The SAI consists of questions about known physical illnesses (e.g., asthma, diabetes), the presence and severity of a range of physical complaints and whether they can be explained by physical illness. If the child experienced any functional complaints (without a clear cause), the influence of the complaints on the child, the family, school absence and contact with the doctor is assessed.

In TRAILS Next, an adapted version of the SAI was used, which excluded some (neurological) symptoms, included a selection of complaints from the Children Somatization Inventory (CSI), and with adjusted response scales. It also included questions from the Adult Responses to Children's Symptoms (ARCS) questionnaire. The SAI aimed to obtain information about physical complaints in the last year. The part of the interview about functional complaints was audio-recorded so that a physician could later decide on the presence or absence of functional complaints in the child.

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Keywords
Constructs
Waves
  • The Next Generation

  • NEXT - T4
    •   P1C P2C
    4.5 - 5.0 years   From 2018-06-01 (ongoing)
    Mode of collection Interview
    Analysis unit Individual
    Instrument name Soma Assessment Interview (SAI)
    Alternate name Physical complaints
    Measure name SOMA
    References
    Rask, C. U., Christensen, M. F., Borg, C., Søndergaard, C., Thomsen, P. H., & Fink, P. (2009). The Soma Assessment Interview: New parent interview on functional somatic symptoms in children. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 66(5), 455–464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.10.012
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