The question of conflict specificity for subjects with gastric complaints was investigated in the context of a representative, epidemiologic-psychoanalytic field study. Out of a population of 600 adults probands with dyspepsia were compared with individuals with musculoskeletal symptoms and ‘healthy’ subjects. Using interview protocols 2 ‘blinded’ raters judged whether a dependency-independency conflict was present in different aspects of life. Findings supported the higher prevalence of the conflict among subjects with dyspepsia. Therefore, the conflict was considered typical, but not specific for the experimental group.