Table 2.
Functional neurological symptoms and experience scores per group and inferential statistics on group comparisons
| FNS patients (n = 45) | Healthy comparison subjects (n = 45) | FNS patients vs. HC | F44.4/F44.6 vs. F44.7 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M ± SD | median (range) | M ± SD | median (range) | |||
| SDQ-20 | 33.3±9.5 | 31 (27–38) | 21.4±1.7 | 21 (20–22) | t(88) = 8.63***, d = 0.68 | U = 117.5, z = -2.59*, r = -0.36 |
| ETI | ||||||
| Group | F(1, 88) = 12.59***, η2 = 0.13 | |||||
| Domainc | F(1.1,97) = 31.4***, η2 = 0.26 | |||||
| Group x domain | F(1.1,97) = 13.19***, η2 = 0.13 | |||||
| Group simple effects by ETI domain | ||||||
| General | 2.5±3.7 | 1.17 (0.43–2.93) | 1±1.6 | 0.3 (0.09–1.48) | U = 625.5, z = -3.13**, r = -0.33 | n. s. |
| Physical | 4.1±6.4 | 1.44 (0.11–4.15) | 2.6±3.2 | 1.11 (0.11–3.17) | n. s. | n. s. |
| Emotional | 20.8±27.5 | 10 (1.25–34.19) | 4.9±10.6 | 0.75 (0–5.19) | U = 539, z = -3.89***, r = -0.41 | n. s. |
| Sexual abuse | 0.6±2 | 0 (0–0) | 0.1±0.2 | 0 (0–0.03) | n. s. | U = 150, z = -2.48*, r = -0.34 |
| LEQ | ||||||
| Group | F(1, 88) = 10.91**, η2 = 0.11 | |||||
| Group x domain | F(1, 88) = 58.12***, η2 = 0.4 | |||||
| Group simple effects by LEQ domain | ||||||
| sum- | 21.3±12.5 | 23 (10.5–31.5) | 6±5.1 | 4 (2–8) | F(1,88) = 57.64***, η2 = 0.4 | U = 138.5, z = -2.08*, r = -0.37 |
| sum+ | 10.9±9.2 | 9 (2.5–16) | 14.9±11.8 | 10 (6–24) | n. s. | n. s. |
| ERQ S | 4.1±1.6 | 4.25 (3–5.25) | 3.1±1.3 | 2.75 (2–4.13) | t(88) = 3.18**, d = 0.32 | n. s. |
| TAS-26 | 2.6±0.6 | 2.61 (2.28–2.89) | 2±0.4 | 1.94 (1.67–2.22) | t(88) = 6.61***, d = 0.58 | n. s. |
Note. FNS = functional neurological symptoms; HC = healthy comparison subjects; F44.4/F44.6 = dissociative movement or sensitivity disorder; F44.7 = multiple dissociative movement and sensitivity disorder; SDQ-20 = FNS symptom severity verified using the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire; ETI = Early Trauma Interview including the domains: general traumata, emotional neglect/abuse, physical neglect/abuse and sexual abuse; LEQ = Life Events Questionnaire with: LEQ sum- = recent negative life events; LEQ sum+ = recent positive life events; ERQs = suppressive emotion regulation style assessed using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire; TAS-26 = Toronto Alexithymia Scale. ***: p < 0.001, **: p < 0.01, * p < 0.05, n. s.: not significant, p > 0.05