Abstract
This study explored whether alexithymic features mediate the effect of perceived adverse parenting during childhood on being diagnosed with a PD in adulthood. Two hundred sixty-five psychiatric outpatients were evaluated with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders, the Clinical Global Impression scale, and the Global Assessment of Functioning scale. The statistical model for mediation proposed by Baron and Kenny (1986) was employed to detect whether the TAS scores account for the relation between PBI scores and a PD diagnosis. The results indicated that although altered parental bonding (and specifically, excessive maternal protection) may enhance the risk of PD, its effect is completely mediated by the alexithymic feature Difficulty Describing Feelings to Others (DDF), after controlling for gender, age, educational level, type, severity and age of onset of Axis I disorders. Therefore, this study suggests that the presence of DDF accounts for the effect of maternal overprotection as a risk factor for PD.
Highlights
This study explored whether alexithymic features mediate the effect of perceived adverse parenting during childhood on being diagnosed with a personality disorders (PD) in adulthood
The present study explored whether, in a clinical sample of psychiatric outpatients, alexithymic features mediate the effect of perceived adverse parenting during childhood and adolescence on being diagnosed with a PD in adulthood
The results indicate that altered parental bonding may enhance the risk of PD, its effect is completely mediated by the alexithymic feature “difficulty describing feelings to others” (DDF)
Summary
This study explored whether alexithymic features mediate the effect of perceived adverse parenting during childhood on being diagnosed with a PD in adulthood. Both studies focused only on childhood abuse, without providing more general information about the parental rearing environment. In light of the above considerations, the present study was performed to explore the potential mediating role of alexithymic features in the association between perceived early parenting and a PD diagnosis in adulthood
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