Somatic and Depressive Symptoms Among Children From Latin America and the English-Speaking Caribbean.

This article examines the association between depressive symptoms and somatic complaints among elementary school children aged 9 to 12 from two English-speaking Caribbean countries (Jamaica and Barbados) and one Latin American country (Colombia). Using the Adolescent Depression Rating Scale (ADRS), the Numeric 0–10 Anxiety Self-Report Scale, and the Children's Somatic Symptom Inventory-24 (CSSI-24), the study found that depressive symptoms strongly predicted somatic symptom reporting across all three countries, with Jamaican children exhibiting the highest levels and Colombian children the lowest. Cultural background was a significant predictor, with anglophone Caribbean children reporting more somatic symptoms than their hispanophone Colombian peers, although somatic symptoms were a sensitive indicator of depression among Colombian children. The findings suggest that awareness of the depression-somatization link could improve early detection and treatment of depression in youth within these cultural contexts.