Emotional Crying: Frequency and Effects on Mood in a Sample of Psychosomatic Outpatients – Evidence for Different Types of Emotional Crying

Objective: The objective was to analyze the frequency, the function, the effects and the predictors of crying in a sample of patients with psychosomatic or psychiatric disorders.

Methods: A questionnaire was applied in a sample of 415 patients with psychosomatic or psychiatric (except psychotic) disorders. In addition, the patients filled out the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES) and the SOMS–2 questionnaire. Predictors of crying were analyzed by logistic regression.

Results: 63.4% of patients cried 1–2 times per month or less. A subgroup cried very frequently (13.8% 1–2 times per week; 22.7% more than 1–2 per week). Predictors of frequent crying were female gender, dissociative symptoms, the presence of an affective disorder, and low education. 52.3% indicated feeling relieved upon crying. The effect of crying on mood in patients who suffered from dissociation as well as in patients who cried very frequently was significantly less beneficial than in patients without dissociative symptoms or patients who cried less frequently.

Conclusion: A subgroup of primarily female patients exhibited very frequent crying. Both dissociation and affective disorders predicted frequent crying. Those patients report less emotional relief compared to patients who cry less. Thus, there may be two types of crying, one type (less frequent crying) tending to be more relieving, the other type (predominantly by very frequent crying) apparently being part of a dissociative or depressive pathology.

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Affect - Crying - Depression - Dissociation - Emotion - Somatoform Disorder