Psychosomatic Disorders Among Taiz University Employees in Light of Certain Variables

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the level of psychosomatic disorders among Taiz University employees and to investigate differences based on gender, marital status, and years of experience. A correlational descriptive design was adopted. The study sample comprised 260 employees (172 males and 88 females) drawn from the faculties, centers, and administrative units of the university in Taiz and Al-Hawban, representing 32.6% of the study population. The sample was selected using proportionate stratified random sampling. To achieve the objectives of the study, the New Cornell Medical Index for Neurotic and Psychosomatic Symptoms (Brodman et al., 1986) was used, in its Arabic translation by Abu Al-Nile (1995), as adapted by the researcher. The results indicated statistically significant differences at the 0.05 level or lower between the arithmetic means and the hypothetical mean across all subscales, with significance values of 0.000. All t-values were negative, indicating that the arithmetic means were lower than the hypothetical mean. The highest percentage was observed in gastrointestinal disorders (52.5%), followed by musculoskeletal disorders (51.0%), both of which remained below the moderate level. Lower-than-average levels were also found in nervous system disorders (45.5%), hearing and vision disorders (44.8%), and circulatory system disorders (44.8%). While skin and genitourinary disorders recorded a low level (42.5%), the results also revealed no statistically significant differences in psychosomatic disorders attributable to gender, marital status, or years of experience in the two-way and three-way interactions. In contrast, minor differences emerged in the main effects, manifested in musculoskeletal disorders in favor of females and non-divorced participants, and in hearing and vision disorders in favor of those with fewer years of experience.