Research Article
Stressful Life Events, Somatic Symptoms, and Substance Use in Italian Young Adults
Issue:
Volume 15, Issue 6, December 2026
Pages:
198-204
Received:
5 October 2026
Accepted:
17 October 2026
Published:
13 November 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ajap.20261506.11
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Abstract: Stress is an important psychological and physiological response that may influence physical symptoms and health-related behaviours, although its effects vary across individuals. The present study examined the associations between recent stressful experiences, somatic symptom severity, and drug use, with particular attention to the presence and recency of drug use and the distribution of somatic symptom severity. A total of 487 adults completed an online questionnaire assessing recent major stressful events, somatic symptoms, illicit drug use and recency of use. Recent stress was not associated with drug-use status, with similar proportions of participants reporting drug use among those with and without recent stress. The exploratory analysis of the temporal relationship between stress and drug use did not provide evidence of a significant association, although interpretation was limited by the small number of participants reporting both experiences. In contrast, participants reporting recent stress showed significantly higher overall somatic symptom severity than those without recent stress. Although the distribution of symptom severity categories showed a descriptive shift toward moderate and high symptom levels among participants reporting recent stress, the overall categorical distribution did not differ significantly between groups. These findings suggest that recent stressful experiences may be associated with greater somatic symptom burden, although the magnitude of this association appears to be modest. In contrast, no evidence of an association between recent stress and drug-use status was observed in this sample. The findings highlight the relevance of recent stress in understanding individual differences in somatic symptomatology while suggesting that its relationship with substance use may depend on additional individual and behavioural factors. Longitudinal research using repeated assessments of stress, somatic symptoms, and substance-related behaviours is warranted to clarify the temporal and individual-level processes underlying these associations.
Abstract: Stress is an important psychological and physiological response that may influence physical symptoms and health-related behaviours, although its effects vary across individuals. The present study examined the associations between recent stressful experiences, somatic symptom severity, and drug use, with particular attention to the presence and rece...
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Ornella Montebarocci
