The role of emotion regulation difficulties in the relationship between perceived stress and somatic symptoms depending on women's working status

The aim of this study is to examine the moderating role of difficulty in emotion regulation in the relationship between perceived stress and somatic symptoms according to women's employment status. The sample of the study was a community sample consisting of 231 female participants, 119 (%51.5) of whom were actively working and 112 (%48.5) of whom were unemployed (housewives), between the ages of 21-60. While the research data were collected online from the participants at the beginning of the process, the survey method was also added in the following process due to the vision problems of some participants. In line with the purpose of the study, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Somatic Emotional Conflict Scale (SECS) and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16) were applied in order to collect data. For the analysis of the data, Pearson Correlation Analysis, Independent Samples T-Test, One-Way ANOVA and Process Macro Analysis were applied using the Social Sciences Statistical Package Program (SPSS) 21 program. According to the findings obtained as a result of the research, significant and positive relationships were found between the frequency and severity levels of somatic symptoms and perceived stress levels and difficulty in emotion regulation. In addition, in the comparisons made in terms of women's working status, it was determined that the levels of difficulty in emotion regulation and frequency of somatic symptoms of housewives showed significant differences compared to working women. As a result of the moderation analyses, it was determined that difficulty in emotion regulation did not have a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived stress and somatic symptoms. The findings of the study show that women's social roles can create differences in terms of emotional and physical reactions. In addition, it reveals that stress has a direct effect on somatic symptoms, and emotion regulation skills are related to the severity of symptoms in this process. The lack of studies in the literature examining these three variables on a female sample makes this study original. In line with the findings obtained, it is thought that it will contribute to clinical applications such as supporting women's stress coping skills, increasing training on emotion regulation skills, and strengthening mental health services especially for housewives.