Influence of alexithymia on somatic complaints among Japanese adolescents

Abstract

This study examined alexithymic tendencies and the effect of these tendencies on somatic complaints in Japanese adolescents. Japanese adolescents (n=2,759; age range 12—20 years) participated in the study. Alexithymic tendencies were assessed by the Alexithymia Scale for Adolescents (ASA) and somatic complaints by the Somatic Complaint List (SCL). The results indicated the following. (1) The total ASA score remained high from early to late adolescence. (2) The ASA total scores remained high because ASA subfactors, difficulty in identifying feelings (DIF), and difficulty describing feelings (DDF) increased during adolescence, whereas externally oriented thinking (EOT) decreased, (3) The DIF significantly affected adolescents’ somatic complaints irrespective of their grade or gender. (4) The DDF increased somatic complaints of junior high and high school-aged male participants only, but this effect disappeared as respondents’ age increased and they became undergraduates. These results indicate that the effect of alexithymic tendencies on somatic complaints changes with age. The study further revealed that the DIF consistently affects the increase in somatic complaints.