Responsiveness to Direct Verbal Suggestions and Dissociation Independently Predict Symptoms Associated with Environmental Factors

Abstract

Symptoms associated with environmental factors (SAEF; also known as idiopathic environmental intolerance) include the presentation of various common symptoms that are causally attributed to normally benign environmental triggers, such as electromagnetic fields, odors, and chemicals. SAEF are typically conceptualized as psychogenic in origin, and multiple models have proposed that dissociation and responsiveness to suggestions may contribute to the manifestation or expression of these symptoms. This preregistered study sought to characterize these variables’ independent and interactive predictive utility. Participants (<i>N</i> = 294) completed psychometric measures of dissociative tendencies, trauma, SAEF, and a behavioral scale indexing responsiveness to direct verbal suggestions. Moderation analyses were used to evaluate predictions derived from different models regarding whether these variables would uniquely and interactively predict individual differences in the reporting of SAEF. Responsiveness to verbal suggestions individually predicted SAEF, but no clear evidence was observed for an interaction with dissociation or trauma. Dissociation similarly individually predicted SAEF with additional evidence that this association was moderated by trauma such that the positive association between dissociation and SAEF was only significant in those with moderate-to-high trauma exposure. These results align with the proposal that environmental factors may function as suggestions that trigger involuntary symptoms in some individuals. Our findings further suggest that among individuals with a history of trauma exposure, those with dissociative tendencies may be at an increased risk of experiencing SAEF.