Difficulty In Identifying Feelings Research Articles

Effects of childhood adversities on alexithymia features vary between sexes. Results of a prospective population study

ABSTRACT Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) associate with various mental disorders, including personality features. Our understanding of how ACEs influence alexithymia features in the general population is limited. In a prospective population setting, we studied whether ACEs associate with alexithymia, and the role of sex and emotional symptoms in this association. Methods: In a Finnish population-based prospective study, 3,142 individuals aged between 30 and 64 years completed eleven ACE questions and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale in 2000 and 2011, and the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist in 2011. The effect of ACEs on alexithymia and its subdomains – difficulty identifying feelings (DIF), difficulty describing feelings (DDF), and externally oriented thinking (EOT) in 2000 and 2011 – was analysed using repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The number of ACEs and their main component, childhood social disadvantage, associated positively with total alexithymia scores and its subdomains DIF and DDF, and negatively with EOT. After controlling for the effect of depression and anxiety, the strength of these associations was reduced, but the effect of social disadvantage on DIF and EOT remained significant in females. Childhood family conflicts associated positively with DIF in males and negatively with EOT in females. Additionally, maternal mental problems associated positively with DIF and DDF in females. Discussion: In the general population, ACEs, particularly social disadvantage, are associated with adult alexithymia features. Alexithymia features, detectable from youth, may predispose individuals to emotional disturbances caused by childhood adversities. The effect of family conflicts and maternal mental problems on alexithymia features varies between sexes.

Alexithymia, internet addiction, and cyber-victimisation among high school students in Turkey: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT Objective: The study aims to explore the interrelationships among internet addiction, cyber-victimisation, and alexithymia in high school adolescents in Turkey, emphasising the role of gender. Materials & Methods: 305 participants were surveyed via Young's Internet Addiction Test – Short Form (YIAT-SF), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Cyberbullying Scale. The influence of gender on alexithymia, particularly in identifying and describing feelings, and its effect on internet addiction and cyber-victimisation was evaluated by path analysis. Results: There was a moderate positive correlation between YIAT-SF and TAS-20 total scores (r = 0.385, p < 0.001). YIAT-SF and TAS-20 total scores were positively correlated with CVS score (r = 0.151, p = 0.008; r = 0.140, p = 0.015, respectively). The results revealed gender significantly affects alexithymia dimensions, particularly in difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) (β = 0.14, p = 0.010) and difficulty describing feelings (DDF) (β = 0.28, p < 0.001). Moreover, DDF was found to have a substantial impact on cyber-victimisation (β = 0.32, p < 0.001), and DIF significantly influenced internet addiction (β = 0.49, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of considering gender-specific factors when addressing Internet addiction and cyber-victimisation. Gender differences in alexithymic traits highlight the need for specific preventive and therapeutic approaches that focus on emotional recognition and expression skills.

Heterogeneity of Alexithymia Subgroups

Abstract: Alexithymia is a subclinical experience in which individuals struggle to identify, distinguish, and describe their own emotions. It is most commonly measured with the self-reported Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20). However, scholars hold different views on its structure, resulting in challenges in classifying individuals with alexithymia, which is detrimental to clinical diagnosis, counseling, and intervention. The present study aimed to investigate the types (or subgroups) of alexithymia within a sample of college students ( n = 707) from four Chinese universities. Two latent classes of three-factor two-class model solution were effectively identified by the Factor Mixture Model (FMM) approach: a “High-EOT alexithymia” class (18.2%) and a “Non-alexithymia” class (81.8%). The two subgroups exhibited similar performance in difficulty in identifying feelings (DIF) and difficulty in describing feelings (DDF), but they differed significantly in externally oriented thinking (EOT). This suggests that EOT might be a diagnostic criterion for alexithymia.

348 Alexithymia impacts vulnerability for cognitive decline in healthy elders via frontal lobe connectivity during response inhibition, especially in women

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: This project aimed to examine the impacts of biological sex and alexithymia on frontal lobe connectivity in executive functioning (EF)-related neural networks during successful inhibition as a means to index vulnerability for future cognitive decline. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Healthy, cognitively intact older adults (n=43, 33 female, Mage=79) completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the stop-signal task in this study. We used electroencephalography (EEG) source estimation to investigate EF-related frontal connectivity during successful inhibition in stop-signal task trials. Connectivity was measured in bilateral frontal ROIs relevant to inhibition using time series correlations over the N200 (186-350ms) and P300 (340-616ms) time windows, associated with the inhibitory subprocesses of conflict processing and performance evaluation, respectively. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Those with higher alexithymia, as measured by the difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) facet of the TAS-20, had lower right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)-left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) connectivity in the P300 window, suggesting impaired performance evaluation. Further, in females specifically, those with higher DIF had greater right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG)-bilateral ACC connectivity in the N200 window than those with lower DIF, suggesting greater resources were allocated for conflict processing and inhibition. Right ACC-rIFG connectivity also correlated with better stop accuracy and faster stop-signal reaction time, supporting this network’s role in successful inhibition. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Overall, during successful inhibition, higher DIF was associated with reduced performance monitoring efficiency as well as greater resource allocation for conflict processing during motor stopping in women only. Thus, alexithymia (via DIF) may exacerbate age-related EF dysfunction and risk for future cognitive decline, especially for females.

The relationship between alexithymia, rumination and binge drinking among university students

The current study aimed to examine the differential association of alexithymia and rumination facets with binge drinking. Two-hundred and ninety-two university students participated in this cross-sectional study, and we analyzed the data of those who reported alcohol use in the past 30 days (N = 247, Mage = 23.32). Self-report measures were used to assess the levels of alexithymia and rumination. Participants reported binge drinking in the past 30 days. Logistic regression analysis showed a significant positive association between the Difficulties in Identifying Feelings (DIF) component of alexithymia and binge drinking, but brooding – the maladaptive component of rumination – did not explain binge drinking in this sample. Our results draws the attention of investigating emotional processing and emotion regulation in relation to substance use.

Emotion Regulation and Psychological Dependence on Pain Medication among Hospital Outpatients with Chronic Spinal Pain: The Influence of Rumination about Pain and Alexithymia

Objective : To examine the extent to which pain acceptance, pain catastrophising and alexithymia moderate associations between pain intensity and psychological pain medication dependence. Methods : Participants (106 hospital outpatients with chronic spinal pain) completed the Leeds Dependence Questionnaire (LDQ) to measure psychological dependence on pain medication, and the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire-8 (CPAQ-8), the Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), plus the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Results : Multiple linear regression showed that degree of psychological dependence (measured dimensionally across the range of LDQ scores) was associated with TAS subscale difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) (β = 0.249, p = <0.002) and PCS subscale rumination (β = 0.193, p = 0.030), independently of pain intensity and risk behaviors for medication misuse. The effect of pain intensity was moderated by rumination, with pain intensity more strongly associated with dependence when rumination was high (interaction β = 0.192, p = 0.004). Logistic regression showed that the effect of pain intensity on severe dependence (measured categorically as LDQ score ≥ 20) was moderated by alexithymia, so that severe dependence was independently associated with the combination of intense pain and high alexithymia (interaction odds ratio = 7.26, 95% CIs = 1.63–32.42, p = 0.009). Conclusions : Rumination and alexithymia moderated the associations between pain intensity and psychological pain medication dependence, consistent with emotion regulation theory. This raises the possibility that specifically targeting rumination about pain and symptoms of alexithymia could potentially improve the effectiveness of psychological interventions for chronic pain and help people to avoid or reduce their psychological dependence on pain medication.

Alexithymia or general psychological distress? Discriminant validity of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire

BackgroundAlexithymia is an important transdiagnostic risk factor for emotion-based psychopathologies. However, it remains unclear whether alexithymia questionnaires actually measure alexithymia, or whether they measure emotional distress. Our aim here was to address this discriminant validity concern via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ). MethodUnited States general community adults (N = 508) completed the TAS-20, PAQ, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). EFA was used to examine the latent dimensions underlying these measures' scores. ResultsOur EFA extracted two higher-order factors, an “alexithymia” factor and a “general distress” factor (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress). All PAQ scores loaded cleanly on the alexithymia factor, with no cross-loadings on the distress factor. However, for the TAS-20, Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF) facet scores cross-loaded highly on the distress factor. LimitationsOur sample consisted of general community adults; future work in clinical settings will be useful. ConclusionsOur data indicate that the PAQ has good discriminant validity. However, the TAS-20 appears to have significant discriminant validity problems, in that much of the variance in its DIF facet reflects people's current levels of distress, rather than alexithymia. The TAS-20, which has traditionally been the most widely used alexithymia questionnaire, may therefore not be the optimal alexithymia tool. Our findings add to the body of evidence supporting the validity and utility of the PAQ and suggest that, moving forward, it is a superior option to the TAS-20 for alexithymia assessments.

Alexithymia in the Narratization of Romantic Relationships: The Mediating Role of Fear of Intimacy.

The purpose of the study was to verify the hypothesis concerning the relationship between alexithymia and selected indicators used to describe emotional events, specifically romantic relationships. Alexithymia, due to significant distortions in cognitive processing of emotional content, is demonstrated by poor recognition of emotions in oneself and others and, as a result, by deficits in empathy, avoidance of social relationships, and deficits in the ability to mentalize. Differences in narrations were tested by alexithymia levels (high vs. low) and the relation between specific narration features and individual alexithymia factors, i.e., difficulties in identifying emotions, difficulties in verbalising emotions, and externally oriented thinking. A total of 356 people who had been in a romantic relationship for at least six months participated in the study. The TAS-20 was applied to measure alexithymia, and the FIS questionnaire was used to investigate anxiety in close relationships. Participants were asked to freely describe the romantic relationship they were in at that moment. The Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWCLIWC2015 v1.6-unlimited duration academic licence) software was used for content analysis. The study was conducted online. On the basis of the analyses conducted, high levels of alexithymia were found to be significantly associated with a lower total number of words used in narrative, a lower number relating to positive emotions, a lower number relating to causation and insight, and a higher number relating to negative emotions. Various results were obtained for individual dimensions of alexithymia in relation to the LIWC categories and the mediating role of fear of intimacy. For the difficulty identifying feelings (DIF), a significant mediating effect was observed only for words associated with negative emotions, whereas for the difficulty describing feelings (DDF), significant mediating effects were found for words relating to negative emotions and causality. In the case of externally oriented thinking (EOT), significant mediating effects were obtained for all analysed categories from LIWC.

Alexithymia, Burnout, and Hopelessness in a Large Sample of Healthcare Workers during the Third Wave of COVID-19 in Italy.

In the present study, we aimed to assess the frequency of and the relationships between alexithymia, burnout, and hopelessness in a large sample of healthcare workers (HCWs) during the third wave of COVID-19 in Italy. Alexithymia was evaluated by the Italian version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and its subscales Difficulty in Identifying Feelings (DIF), Difficulty in Describing Feelings (DDF), and Externally Oriented Thinking (EOT), burnout was measured with the scales emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA) of the Maslach Burnout Test (MBI), hopelessness was measured using the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and irritability (IRR), depression (DEP), and anxiety (ANX) were evaluated with the Italian version of the Irritability' Depression' Anxiety Scale (IDA). This cross-sectional study recruited a sample of 1445 HCWs from a large urban healthcare facility in Italy from 1 May to 31 June 2021. The comparison between individuals that were positive (n = 214, 14.8%) or not for alexithymia (n = 1231, 85.2%), controlling for age, gender, and working seniority, revealed that positive subjects showed higher scores on BHS, EE, DP IRR, DEP, ANX, DIF, DDF, and EOT and lower on PA than the not positive ones (p < 0.001). In the linear regression model, higher working seniority as well as higher EE, IRR, DEP, ANX, and DDF scores and lower PA were associated with higher hopelessness. In conclusion, increased hopelessness was associated with higher burnout and alexithymia. Comprehensive strategies should be implemented to support HCWs' mental health and mitigate the negative consequences of alexithymia, burnout, and hopelessness.

Perceived stress and severity of depression mediate the association between alexithymia and suicidal ideation in patients with major depressive disorder

IntroductionAlexithymia and perceived stress have been recognized as risk factors for suicide in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, few studies have been conducted to examine the relationship between these factors. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 105 MDD patients. Alexithymia was assessed by the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), perceived stress was assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), severity of depression was assessed by the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), and suicidal ideation was assessed by the self-report Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (SSI). A sequential mediation model was established to test the mediating effects of perceived stress and severity of depression on the association between alexithymia and suicidal ideation. Results81 of the 105 participants (77.14 %) had suicidal ideation. Patients with suicidal ideation had greater difficulty in identifying feelings (DIF) (p = 0.046), higher severity of depression (p = 0.005) and perceived stress (p = 0.003). DIF subscale score of TAS was associated with perceived stress (r = 0.292, p = 0.003), severity of depression (r = 0.349, p < 0.001) and suicidal ideation (r = 0.229, p = 0.012). Sequential mediation model showed that perceived stress and severity of depression mediated the effect of DIF on suicidal ideation. ConclusionsThis study suggests that perceived stress and severity of depression fully mediate the relationship between difficulty in identifying feelings and suicidal ideation in MDD patients.

Alexithymia and aspects of dreaming: Differential associations of alexithymia facets with dream variables.

Research on aspects of dreaming associated with alexithymia has yielded mixed results. The present study recruited a young adult online sample of 577 participants who completed validated indices of alexithymia, emotion suppression, negative moods, and eight aspects of dreaming, with a focus on evaluating a counterintuitive previous finding that alexithymia and two of its core facets were associated with greater self-reported typical emotional intensity of dreams. Total alexithymia and facet scores showed differential relationships to aspects of dreaming including dream recall frequency, emotionality, meaningfulness, nightmare frequency, nightmare distress, usefulness of dreams in problem-solving and creativity, and learning about oneself through dreams. Planned hierarchical regression controlling for demographics, alcohol use, and dream recall frequency indicated that the difficulties identifying feelings (DIF) facet of alexithymia was a significant positive predictor of dream emotionality, whereas the externally oriented thinking (EOT) facet was a significant negative predictor. Stress, but not emotion suppression, mediated the positive relationship between DIF and dream emotionality. The likely role of dream emotionality in higher ratings of nightmare distress, dream meaningfulness, and learning about oneself through dreams among those with higher DIF scores is noted, along with other findings and the strengths and limitations of the study.

A case -control study on the effect of alexithymia in patients of chronic urticarial

Chronic urticaria (CU) places a substantial physical and emotional strain on individuals, impacting their overall quality of life. Alexithymia, described as difficulty experiencing, identifying and expressing emotions, is a characteristic linked to various skin conditions including CU. This study was carried out to assess how alexithymia compares between patients with chronic urticaria and individuals without the condition. We included a total of 50 individuals with chronic urticaria (CU) and 50 healthy individuals as controls. All participants were asked to complete the Toronto Alexithymia Score (TAS-20) questionnaire as part of the study assessment. In our study we found the following patterns within the chronic urticaria (CU) group: 52% exhibited clear characteristics of alexithymia, 30% showed potential signs of alexithymia and 18% of participants had no indications of alexithymia. Among those who displayed alexithymia, the majority (88.5%) were in the non-controlled CU group category. When we examined the TAS-20 categories, we noticed gender differences among participants with alexithymia: 57.1% were female and 45.5% were male, suggesting a female predominance.In the control group, TAS-20 categorization revealed the following: 52% of participants had no alexithymia, 32% displayed potential alexithymia and 16% showed signs of alexithymiaIndividuals with chronic urticaria (CU) tend to exhibit higher levels of alexithymia, particularly in the DIF (Difficulty Identifying Feelings) and DDF (Difficulty Describing Feelings) subscales, when compared to individuals in the control population.

Alexithymia and interpersonal problems in healthy young individuals

BackgroundAlexithymia refers to a multidimensional personality trait with the facets difficulties identifying feelings (DIF), difficulties describing feelings (DDF), and externally orientated thinking (EOT). Alexithymia is a risk factor for mental and somatic disorders. Previous research with patients suffering from various disorders showed positive relationships between alexithymia and interpersonal problems. Only one study analyzed the link between alexithymic features and interpersonal difficulties in healthy individuals but yielded inconclusive findings because participants’ negative affects were not controlled. A widely accepted conceptualization of interpersonal problems relies on the interpersonal circumplex, which is defined by two orthogonal dimensions, agency and communion. In the present study, we analyzed which facets of alexithymia are associated with the two interpersonal problem dimensions and the global severity of interpersonal distress, after adjusting for negative affect.MethodsTwo-hundred healthy young individuals (100 women) participated in the study. Alexithymic features were assessed using the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Interpersonal problems were measured with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-D). Participants’ state and trait anxiety, depressive symptoms, and verbal intelligence were also assessed.ResultsAll alexithymia scales were positively correlated with general interpersonal distress. Regression results suggested that the TAS-20 subscale DIF was the primary predictor of general interpersonal distress after controlling for negative affectivity. The scale DDF correlated negatively with the IIP-D dimension agency. According to our regression analysis, DDF was a predictor of (low) agency controlling for negative affects. Moreover, DDF correlated negatively with the IIP-D dimension communion. Our regression results indicate that DDF was a predictor of (low) communion independent of negative affect. Correlations between alexithymia facets and IIP-D subscales did not differ between genders.ConclusionsDifficulties identifying feelings seem to be linked to a high level of general interpersonal distress. Difficulties in recognizing one’s feelings may disrupt emotion regulation, which could heighten the general risk of interpersonal problems. Difficulties describing feelings could be a central factor contributing to interpersonal problems related to low communion as well as low agency, since emotion expression and communication are crucial in establishing experiences of social closeness and directing other people’s behavior.

Conceptualizing alexithymia

Since the 1970s, psychoanalytic conceptualizations of alexithymia have defined the trait as having four core facets: difficulties identifying feelings (DIF), difficulties describing feelings (DDF), externally orientated thinking (EOT), and constricted imaginal processes. However, there is ongoing controversy about whether constricted imaginal processes are actually a core facet of alexithymia, and which (if any) specific aspects of daydreaming/fantasizing activity might be impaired. In this study, we address this foundational issue by using factor analysis to establish the latent structure of the alexithymia construct. Participants (N = 554) completed a comprehensive battery of psychometric measures of alexithymia and imaginal processes, assessing the frequency, vividness, and content of daydreams or fantasies. None of the aspects of fantasizing loaded on the same factor (i.e., the latent alexithymia factor) as the established DIF, DDF, and EOT facets of alexithymia. Furthermore, patterns of Pearson correlations were inconsistent with psychoanalytic theory, as alexithymia was associated with more (not less) frequent daydreams, more daydreams characterized by negative emotions and wish-fulfillment fantasies, and more use of daydreaming to regulate emotions. Our findings are instead consistent with the attention-appraisal model of alexithymia, which holds that alexithymia is best understood as involving deficits in emotion processing.

Posttraumatic Stress and Alexithymia: Symptom Associations.

There is a demonstrated association between alexithymia and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, work has largely focused on male-dominant, high-risk occupation populations. We aimed to explore the relationship between posttraumatic stress (PTS) and alexithymia among 100 trauma-exposed female university students. Participants completed a Life Events Checklist, the PTSD Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) (PCL-5), and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Multiple regressions were run to examine whether alexithymia was associated with each of the PCL-5 subscales. The TAS-20 total scores were associated with total PTS scores, β = 0.47, t(99) = 5.22, p < 0.001. On a subscale level, Difficulty in Identifying Feelings (DIF) was positively associated (β = 0.50 to 0.41) with all PCL-5 subscales except for Avoidance. Our results align with research showing that for women, the DIF subscale is most strongly associated with PTS, in contrast with the literature on male samples, showing strongest associations with the Difficulties in Describing Feelings subscale, suggesting sex differences in associations between PTS and alexithymia. Our study supports the universality of the associations between alexithymia and PTS.

Specific correlation between childhood trauma and social cognition in Chinese Han first-episode, drug-naïve major depressive disorder

BackgroundChildhood trauma (CT) is a significant factor affecting social cognition in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the relationship between CT, social cognition, and MDD is still not well-understood. MethodsA total of 251 Han Chinese participants, comprising 117 first-episode drug-naïve MDD patients and 134 healthy controls (HCs), were recruited. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Interpersonal Reactivity Index–C (IRI), and Facial Emotion Recognition Test were used to measure CT and social cognition. Partial correlations were conducted to analyze the association between CT and social cognition. ResultsOur results showed that no significant correlation was observed between CTQ total score and social cognition in MDD (p > 0.05), while it was different in HCs (TAS-20 total score: r = 0.21, p = 0.016; difficulty identifying feelings (DIF): r = 0.219, p = 0.012; perspective-taking (PT): r = −0.214, p = 0.014; recognizing neutral facial emotions: r = −0.4, p < 0.001). CTQ subtyping analysis revealed that CTQ subscale scores in MDD were significantly correlated with PT, personal distress (PD), and recognizing angry facial emotions. Interestingly, physical abuse score was positively correlated with PT in MDD (r = 0.219, p = 0.019) but negatively with PT in HCs (r = −0.276, p = 0.001). LimitationsInsufficient sample size and cross-sectional designs. ConclusionThe correlation between CT and social cognition in MDD was weakened or reversed compared to HCs, highlighting the need for further investigation to determine the cause of this specific correlation.

Externally oriented thinking style increases primary health care use in adolescence.

Alexithymia has been related to adult health care use. We investigated the association between alexithymia and the utilization of primary health care services by adolescents and young adults. The participants (n = 751, aged 13-18 years) in this 5-year follow-up study were assessed with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and its three subscales, difficulty identifying feelings (DIF), difficulty describing feelings (DDF) and externally oriented thinking (EOT), and the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Primary health care data were gathered from health care centre registers in 2005-10. Generalized linear models and mediation analyses were used. An increase in the TAS-20 total score correlated with a higher number of primary health care and emergency care visits, but in multivariate general linear models, TAS-20 total scores were no longer significant. Younger age, female gender and an increase in the baseline EOT score are associated with a higher number of both primary health care and emergency room visits. In females, a smaller change in the EOT score from baseline to follow-up was associated with a higher number of primary health care visits. In mediation analyses, EOT had a direct effect on a higher number of primary health care and emergency room visits, whereas the BDI score mediated the incremental effect of DIF and DDF on visit numbers. The results suggest that an EOT style independently increases health care use by adolescents, whereas the effects of difficulties identifying and describing feelings on health care use are mediated by symptoms of depression.

Depression mediates the relationship between alexithymia and obesity in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966)

BackgroundThe fact that a complex relationship exists between alexithymia and body mass index (BMI) is well established, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we explore the relationship between alexithymia and depressive symptoms in relation to adiposity measures, including the direct and indirect effect of alexithymia and depressive symptoms on obesity over a 15-year time-period, in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966). MethodsThe study included individuals from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC1966) who had available data for adiposity measures (body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio), alexithymia (measured by the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: TAS-20), depressive symptoms (measured by the 13-item depression subscale of Hopkins Symptom Checklist: HSCL-13) at age of 31 years (n = 4773) and 46 years (n = 4431). Pearson's (r) correlation, and multiple linear regression were used to investigate the relationships between alexithymia, depressive symptoms, and adiposity measures. The potential mediating role of depressive symptoms was examined via Hayes' procedure (PROCESS). ResultsPositive correlations were confirmed between adiposity measures (BMI and WHR) and the TAS-20 score (and its subscale), but not between obesity and HSCL-13 score. The strongest correlation was between the DIF (difficulty identifying feelings) subscale of the TAS-20 and HSCL-13 at both time points (31 y: r(3013) = 0.41, p < 0.01, 46 y: r(3013) = 0.43, p < 0.01). Depressive symptoms completely (z = 2.55 (±0.00003), p = 0.01) and partly (z = 2.16 (±0.0001), p = 0.03) mediated the alexithymia-obesity relationship over the 15-year time-period. LimitationsOther psychological and environmental factors such as interoception, dietary intake and physical activities may also play a role as a potential mediating factor in alexithymia-obesity relationship. ConclusionsOur findings provide additional insights of theoretical framework of depressive symptoms mediation effect in the relationship between alexithymia and obesity. Alexithymia and depression should, therefore, be considered in the design of future clinical obesity research.

Influence of alexithymia on somatic complaints among Japanese adolescents

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.

Short research report : Relationship between alexithymia as a multi-dimensional construct and depression in university students : mediating role of anxiety

This study investigated the relationship between alexithymia and depression amongst university students and how it is mediated by anxiety. Data was collected from a sample of university students (n= 74, Men = 41, Women = 33) aged 18 to 25 (Mean = 22.05, SD = .38). The findings revealed a statistically significant gender difference with men being more alexithymic than women. There was a significant positive correlation between the alexithymic subscales difficulty identifying feelings (DDF) and difficulty describing feelings (DIF), depression and anxiety. DDF and DIF along with anxiety predicted depression. Anxiety partially mediated the relationship between DIF and depression but completely mediated the relationship between DDF and depression. Alexithymic features DDF and DIF predict depression in the sample but Externally Oriented Thinking (EOT) did not. Anxiety was found to be an underlying mechanism operating in the between alexithymic features and depression.