TAS-20 Scores Research Articles

Алекситимія та лудоманія: посередницька роль стресу

Background. Gambling encourages people to want more money than they did at the beginning of the game. The growing availability and variety of games has made gambling a critical issue. Statistics show that out of 48.5 million Ukrainians, more than four million are players. Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which levels of alexithymia and stress may predict pathological gambling. The study also examines the role of stress mediators in the relationship between alexithymia and addiction. Methods. The group of 123 male patients aged 18 to 64 years with a mean of 33 (SD = 11.5) participated in the study. Participants were selected from various rehabilitation centers in Kyiv. The study was conducted only with volunteers over 18 years of age who declared gambling and signed an informed consent. Measuring instruments: 1) Form of demographic information 2) South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) 3) Toronto Alexithymic Scale (TAS-20) 4) Psychological stress measure (PSM-25) 5) Lemyr-Tessier-Fillion PSM-25 scale Data were collected from individuals through online surveys as well as in person. Data were analyzed using the t-test to determine the significance of differences between groups. However, no significant difference was found. Before the participants completed the survey, it was ensured that they all signed the consent form. The data was cleaned after all the data had been entered into the computer. A total of six participants who either did not answer more than half of the questions or had deviations (-3.29> z <3.29) were excluded from the study. Results. Regression analysis showed that the amount of money betting on gambling, the total score of TAS-20 and PSM-25 significantly predicted pathological gambling. In addition, stress has a partial mediating role in the relationship between alexithymia and addiction. Conclusion. It is claimed that people with a high level of alexithymia become prone to gambling addiction due to stress. In addition to alexithymia, stress also plays an important role in the formation of addiction. In this context, this study contributes to the relevant literature by combining alexithymia, stress, and pathological gambling in conjunction with each other.

Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy: a possible correlation with obsessive compulsive disorder and alexithymia

The possible correlation between nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and alexithymia were examined in this cross-sectional study. A cohort of pregnant women at the first trimester of pregnancy experiencing NVP were divided into three groups, according to severity (mild, moderate and severe) with the Pregnancy Unique Quantification of Emesis and Nausea (PUQE) test. The Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Scale (MOCQ) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were applied. Scores of scales were compared in all three groups, and the relationship between NVP severity and OCD and alexithymia was evaluated. On the 110 enrolled pregnant women, 42 had mild, 36 had moderate and 32 had severe NVP. Pregnant women with mild NVP had lower MOCQ scores than those with severe NVP (p = .010). Total scores of TAS-20 were higher among subjects with greater NVP severity (p < .001). PUQE scores were demonstrated significant correlations with MOCQ and total and subsection scores of the TAS-20, regardless of NVP groups. Study results showed that women with more pronounced OCD and/or alexithymia can experience somatic complaints, such as NVP, particularly intense in their first trimester of pregnancies. For this reason, psychotherapy in addition to medical treatments could be recommended to pregnant women with severe NVP. Impact statement What is already known on this subject? NVP is a condition experienced by most women, particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy, which can be affected by the psychosomatic condition of the pregnant woman. What do the results of this study add? The severity of nausea and vomiting according to PUQE test were significantly associated with OCD and alexithymia presence in pregnant women during their first trimester period. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? These findings might demonstrate the symptoms of NVP are correlated to OCD, as well as alexithymia. Longitudinal studies are required to demonstrate the clear causal relationship between NVP and psychiatric symptoms as in OCD and in alexithymia.

Brain reactivity to emotional stimuli in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder and related personality characteristics.

Aims: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a psychiatric condition that is associated with the menstrual cycle. Elucidation of the neural regulation mechanisms of brain reactivity to emotional stimuli among women with PMDD may inform PMDD treatment.Methods: Eighty-six women (42 PMDD, 44 healthy controls) were allocated into two groups (anger-induced group: 23 PMDD vs. 23 controls; depression-induced group: 19 PMDD vs. 21 controls). During the luteal phases of the menstrual cycle, all the women were subjected to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). fMRI resting-state scans were performed before and after the study participants had performed an emotional stimuli task. After the emotional stimuli task, emotional status of the participants were evaluated by Self-Rating Depression Scales (SDS) and Trait Anger Expression Inventory–II (STAXI-II). In addition, all the participants were requested to complete the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20).Results: Compared to healthy controls, all women with PMDD exhibited significantly high scores in Tas-20 (p<0.001), higher neuroticism and psychoticism scores as well as significantly low extraversion and social desirability scores (p<0.05). Compared to the controls, f-MRI revealed that PMDD women had elevated ReHo in the middle frontal gyrus (BA10), temporal lobe (BA42), left cerebellum (BA37), as well as decreased activation in the precuneus (BA7), superior frontal gyrus (BA8), lobulus paracentralis (BA6), and right cerebellum (BA48) (p<0.05). Moreover, depression stimuli showed that women with PMDD had elevated ReHo levels in the middle frontal gyrus (BA11), the middle gyrus (BA47) and in the cingulate gyrus (BA23) vs. healthy controls (p<0.05).Conclusions: Women with more neuroticism and psychoticism, less extraversion and social desirability tend to report PMDD symptoms. Women with this condition experience difficulties in regulating emotions during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Abnormal ReHo levels in the precuneus, superior frontal gyrus, lobulus paracentralis, and right cerebellum may contribute to anger dysregulation. Hypoactivation in the middle frontal gyrus, the middle gyrus and the cingulate gyrus may be generally associated with depression dysregulation in PMDD.

A bifactor analysis of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: Further support for a general alexithymia factor.

The 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) is the most widely used measure to assess the personality construct of alexithymia and is composed of three-factor analytically derived subscales. These subscales measure and represent three critical, theoretically based facets of alexithymia. The subscales are distinct, yet highly interrelated and only as a collective body do they reflect adequately the alexithymia construct. Although different studies using both university student and community samples suggest that TAS-20 total scores are largely reflective of variation on a single construct, and that subscale scores do not provide unique and reliable information beyond total scores, many users of the scale frequently continue to employ and even rely more heavily on subscale scores rather than total scale scores when interpreting research study outcomes. Our goal in this study is to provide clinicians and researchers with replicable psychometric information for the TAS-20 estimated from bifactor modeling in an attempt to provide further support for using total rather than subscale scores. In general, our findings were consistent with previous studies indicating that TAS-20 total scores can be considered indicative of a single construct. The replication of these earlier results from previous investigations provides additional support for the use of a total TAS-20 score and questions the utility of using TAS-20 subscale scores. Based on these results, we recommend that researchers and clinicians use a single total TAS-20 score and not subscale scores. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Alexithymia Is Linked with a Negative Bias for Past and Current Events in Healthy Humans.

Although research provides a rich literature about the influence of emotional states on temporal cognition, evidence about the influence of the style of emotion processing, as a personality trait, on temporal cognition is extremely limited. We provide a novel contribution to the field by exploring the relationship between difficulties of identifying and describing feelings and emotions (alexithymia) and time perspective. One hundred and forty-two healthy participants completed an online version of the TAS-20 scale, which measures alexithymia, and the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, which monitors individual differences in time-orientation regarding the past, present, and future. The results show greater attention to past negative aspects in participants whose TAS-20 score was indicating borderline or manifest alexithymia, as compared to non-alexithymic individuals. Moreover, the higher the TAS-20 score, the higher the tendency was to focus on negative aspects of the past and interpret the present fatalistically. These results suggest that difficulties in identifying and describing feelings and emotions are associated with a negative bias for past and present events. Theoretical and clinical implications of this finding are discussed.

Mentalization in female adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury and alexithymic and depressive features in their parents.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a condition with debilitating consequences. We aimed to assess the mentalization skills of female adolescents with NSSI and parents who showed alexithymia and depressive symptoms. Ours was a case-control study. Thirty adolescents with NSSI were recruited into the case group, 31 adolescents were recruited into the control group. Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) and the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children - Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) were applied. The Inventory of Statements about Self-Injury was used. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were given to parents. There were no significant differences between two groups for RMET and parental TAS-20 scores. Maternal BDI scores were found to be significantly higher in the NSSI group. There were no significant differences for paternal BDI. RMET scores correlated negatively with maternal BDI scores. Major depression was found to be the most common diagnosis in the NSSI group. Because maternal depressive features seem to be related to NSSI, a detailed psychiatric examination of mothers should be carried out. Studies with larger samples or different designs are needed for a better understanding of the mentalization in NSSI.

Patients with substance use disorder who have higher alexithymia levels present more suicidality history: Preliminary results in an outpatient addiction treatment center in Spain

IntroductionPatients with substance use disorders (SUD) have higher alexithymia levels and present frequently suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide (SA) [1,2]. Beside, alexithymia has been related to suicidal behaviors in several psychiatric disorders[3]. Although, there are some studies on alexithymia and suicidality in SUD patients, to our knowledge there are no studies on this issue in Spanish population.ObjectivesTo compare the alexithymia levels in SUD patients with and without SI and SA in an outpatient addiction treatment center in Spain.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study performed on 110 patients (74.3%males; mean age 43.6±14.5years old) for whom we had information from the Toronto Alexithymia Scale(TAS-20) and the presence or not of lifetime SI and SA.ResultsLifetime SI and SA were present in 55.5% and 35.5% of the sample respectively. The mean score of TAS-20, difficulties identifying feelings (DIF), difficulties describing feelings (DDT), and externally-oriented thinking(EOT) were 57.2±13.3, 20.0±7.0, 14.7±4.5, and 22.5±4.5 respectively.ConclusionsSI and SA may be related to alexithymia levels. Hence, alexithymia should be further analyzed in SUD patients in longitudinal studies in order to analyze the bilateral association with suicidal spectrum behaviors. REFERENCES Rodríguez-Cintas L, et al. Factors associated with lifetime suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in outpatients with substance use disorders. Psychiatry Res. 2018;262:440-5. Morie KP, et al. Alexithymia and Addiction: A Review and Preliminary Data Suggesting Neurobiological Links to Reward/Loss Processing. Curr Addict Rep. 2016;3(2):239-48. Hemming L, et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between alexithymia and suicide ideation and behaviour. J Affect Disord. 2019;254:34-48.

Quality of Life and Psychological Impact in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a dermatological disorder that affects patients’ mental health and psychological state in complex ways. The importance of understanding the entire scope of this burden is well recognized, but there is limited comprehensive information about the resulting stress on adult patients with AD. This study aimed to determine the degree of psychological stress in patients with AD compared to healthy participants. A total of 352 adult patients participated in this cross-sectional study—174 with AD and 178 healthy participants. Demographic and clinical data were collected. Itch and sleep disturbance were assessed using a numeric rating scale and a visual analogue scale. The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) questionnaires were administered to assess the symptoms of alexithymia and depression. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed in AD patients using the Dermatology Quality Index. In our study, we found high TAS-20 and BDI scores among patients with AD. The prevalence of alexithymic personality features was 56.3% in patients with AD versus 21.3% in healthy controls (p < 0.001). Based on BDI scoring (BDI-21 > 13), depression was suspected in a significantly higher number of patients with AD than in the control group (56.9% (99/174) vs. 15.7% (28/178); p < 0.0001). Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score did not show any significant correlations with psychological parameters. Among clinical parameters, only sleep disturbance was positively correlated with depression (R = 0.307, p < 0.005). Our data show that the severity index score as a representative factor of skin involvement has a limited role in predicting the effect of skin diseases on mental status. Screening and assessment for psychiatric disorders, QOL, and sleep disturbance in patients with atopic dermatitis cannot be neglected by physicians and they should be treated in clinical practice with the consideration of psychosomatic approaches.

No Evidence of Perceptual Pseudoneglect in Alexithymia.

Neuroscience research links alexithymia, the difficulty in identifying and describing feelings and emotions, with left hemisphere dominance and/or right hemisphere deficit. To provide behavioral evidence for this neuroscientific hypothesis, we explored the relationship between alexithymia and performance in a line bisection task, a standard method for evaluating visuospatial processing in relation to right hemisphere functioning. We enrolled 222 healthy participants who completed a version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), which measures alexithymia, and were asked to mark (bisect) the center of a 10-cm horizontal segment. The results document a significant rightward shift in the center of the line in participants with borderline and manifest alexithymia compared with non-alexithymic individuals. The higher the TAS-20 score, the greater the rightward shift in the line bisection task. This finding supports the right hemisphere deficit hypothesis in alexithymia and suggests that visuospatial abnormalities may be an important component of this mental condition.

Relationship between childhood trauma and suicidal risk in prisoners: the mediating effect of alexithymia

To explore the relationship between childhood trauma and suicidal risk in prisoners and the mediating effect of alexithymia in this relationship. We investigated a total of 362 male prisoners in Guangdong Province using Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), the Twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and Suicidal Behaviors-Revised Questionnaire (SBQ-R). Thirty-five (9.7%) prisoners had a high risk of suicide. The total score and the dimension scores of the CTQ-SF was positively correlated with the total score of SBQ-R (r=0.065-0.358, P < 0.01) and the total score of TAS-20 (except for the dimension score of sexual abuse) (r=0.156-0.255, P < 0.01). The total score of TAS-20, the dimensions scores for difficulty in identifying and describing feeling and the dimension score for externally oriented thinking were positively correlated with the total score of SBQ-R (r=0.330, P < 0.01; r=0.294-0.305, P < 0.01; and r=0.130, P < 0.05, respectively). The results of structural equation analysis showed that alexithymia had a partial mediating effect on childhood trauma and suicide risks (β=0.07, 95%CI: 0.023-0.12, P < 0.05). Childhood trauma affects suicidal risk in prisoners not only directly but also indirectly through the mediating effect of alexithymia.

Gender Differences in Empathy During Adolescence: Does Emotional Self-Awareness Matter?

Empathy refers to the capacity to experience emotions similar to those observed or imagined in another person, with the full knowledge that the other person is the source of these emotions. Awareness of one's own emotional states is a prerequisite for self-other differentiation to develop. This study investigated gender differences in empathy during adolescence and tested whether emotional self-awareness explained these differences. Two-hundred-eleven adolescents (108 girls and 103 boys) between 14 and 19 years completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess empathy and emotional self-awareness, respectively. Overall, girls obtained higher scores than boys on IRI subscales like emotional concern, personal distress, and fantasy. Regarding emotional self-awareness, we found gender differences in TAS-20 scores, with girls reporting greater difficulty identifying feelings and less externally oriented thinking than boys. Difficulty identifying feelings explained the greatest personal distress experienced by girls. Lower externally oriented thinking accounted for girls' greater emotional concern and fantasy. These findings offer an insight into the role of emotional self-awareness-which is essential for self-other differentiation-as an account for gender differences in empathic abilities during adolescence. In girls, difficulty identifying feelings can impair the ability to differentiate between ones' and others' emotions, leading them to experience self-focused and aversive responses when confronted with others' suffering. Conversely, in boys, externally oriented thinking can mitigate personal distress when faced with others' discomfort.

Alexithymia, depression, and cognition in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Basal ganglia are connected to dorsal prefrontal and orbitofrontal structures, which have an important role in emotional experience. Alexithymia is defined as the inability to recognize and verbalize emotions. There is little known about alexithymia and cognitive dysfunction and its relationship with depression. In this study, we examined the relation of alexithymia with cognition and depression in non-demented patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Fort-two consecutive non-demented patients PD and 40 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. The Turkish version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MOCA-TR), 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) (F1, F2, F3 subgroups), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-I) were used to evaluate cognitive functions, alexithymia, and depression, respectively, in both groups. The total TAS-20 score was 55.71 ± 19 in the PD group and 46.33 ± 8.21 in the control group. There was a statistically significant difference in the total TAS-20 scores between the groups (p < 0.001). In subgroups of alexithymia, all mean scores of F1, F2, and F3 were higher in the PD group (p = 0.019, p < 0.001, and p = 0.005, respectively). In the MOCA-TR test, the mean scores in visuospatial and delayed recall of patients with PD were statistically lower than in the control group (p = 0.044 and p = 0.04, respectively). The MOCA-TR and BDI total scores were significantly correlated with TAS-20 total scores. In subgroup analysis, we only found an association between the visuospatial domain of MOCA-TR and the F3 subgroup of TAS-20 (r = -0.22, p = 0.03). There was no relation between alexithymia and disease duration or total levodopa dose (p < 0.05). Alexithymia is not a rare symptom in PD. It should be accepted as an independent non-motor symptom, and patients should be interrogated accordingly.

Alexithymia in Children with Traumatic Dental Injuries- A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Alexithymia is a personality trait that affects the emotional regulation. It has been found associated especially with pain disorders. It is a personality construct which is characterised by inability to experience and describe feelings, making an alexithymia patient suffer from mental clouding. Therefore, it is important to diagnose patients with alexithymia in dental clinics since it may adversely affect the doctor patient relationship and treatment outcome. Aim: To find the prevalence of alexithymia and to find any difference in alexithymia traits between children with Traumatic Dental Injury (TDI) and those without it. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 10-19 years old adolescents reporting to K.M. Shah Dental College and Hospital, Sumandeep Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University), Vadodara, Gujarat, India, from February 2018 to September 2018. A total of 420 participants were enrolled with 210 in each group (with TDI and without TDI). Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was used to identify alexithymia. Andreasen’s classification for TDI was used to classify the TDI. Chi-square was used to compare the non parametric data between the groups. Unpaired t-test was performed for the comparison of scores between groups for total TAS-20 score and as well as for the nine dimensions. Results: The prevalence of alexithymia was found to be 86.1% in children with TDI compared to 30.9% in children without TDI. The difference in prevalence of alexithymia between children with TDI and those without was statistically significant (p-value=0.0001). Children with TDI reported with significantly higher total TAS scores. However, difference with respect to gender was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The prevalence of alexithymia was found significantly higher in children with TDI. Also, the TAS-20 score and the individual domain scores were higher in children with TDI. Hence, alexithymia may be associated with TDI.

Association between dental neglect and alexithymia among adult dental patients.

To show the association between dental neglect and alexithymia among adult dental patients. At times, certain individuals with dental neglect may experience trouble in communicating and/or understanding information, ability to identify, and describe their feelings termed as alexithymia. Hence, recognition of alexithymia in a dental setting is important, because it worsens the dentist-patient relationship, especially among patients who neglect their dental health. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among adult patients (≥20 years). Patients received a questionnaire assessing dental neglect [six-item Dental Neglect Scale (DNS)], alexithymia [20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20)], and demographic profile. Data were analyzed with standard statistical software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 22). P <0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total sample of 1067 individuals comprising 553 (51.8%) females and 514 (48.2%) males with a mean age 35.33 ± 11.49 years participated in the study. Our findings showed that females had higher mean scores for both DNS and total TAS-20 and its factors. With increase in age and education, the mean scores of the DNS had significantly increased and mean scores of total TAS-20 and its factors had decreased with increase in age and education. The above study findings have supported the hypothesis that there is no association between dental neglect and alexithymia among adult dental patients.

The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills in Greek Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students.

The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) is a widely used multidimensional tool for assessing the tendency of the individual to be mindful in everyday life. The aim of the present study was to standardize a Greek version of KIMS and to explore its psychometric properties in the Greek population. A sample of 213 Greek undergraduate and postgraduate students from various educational institutions completed the questionnaires. The Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) were used to evaluate the criterion validity of KIMS. The Principal component analysis (PCA) resulted in a four-component solution, similar to the structure of the English version of the inventory: "Observing," "Describing," "Acting with awareness," and "Accepting without judgment." All components combined accounted for 45.79% of variance. The subscales had adequate internal consistency, and their scores were correlated with MAAS, TAS, and PSS scores, indicating satisfying criterion validity. Associations between the "Observing" subscale and demographic characteristics were also revealed. This version of KIMS can be safely utilized for assessing mindfulness skills and the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in Greek populations.

Evaluation of alexithymia in individuals with chronic pain in a Mexican population: Alexithymia in a Mexican population.

Alexithymia is the difficulty in identifying and describing feelings. Several studies have suggested that chronic pain can be linked to alexithymia. The aims of this study were to determine the presence of alexithymia in a sample of Mexican individuals who attended public health services, to assess if alexithymia is higher in medically ill individuals with pain than in those without pain, and to determine which alexithymia dimensions are more affected by the presence of pain. Demographic and clinical features were evaluated in 250 Mexican outpatients of the General Hospital of Comalcalco, Tabasco. Pain was evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale for Pain Assessment (VAS-P) and alexithymia was evaluated using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). 38.8% of the sample was identified with probable/definite alexithymia and up to 61.2% of individuals were currently experiencing pain. Individuals with pain exhibited higher scores in the TAS-20 dimensions: difficulty describing feelings (p = 0.02), difficulty identifying feelings (p < 0.001) and higher total TAS-20 score (p < 0.001). Also, Probable/definite alexithymia was more frequently reported in individuals with pain (49% vs. 21.6%, p < 0.001). Our results show that a large proportion of individuals who attend public health services in a Mexican population present pain. We also identified that pain could be associated with alexithymia, in particular with a difficulty in describing and identifying feelings. An early identification and treatment of alexithymia could help in reducing the clinical burden of chronic pain in Mexican outpatients.

Determinants and impact of alexithymia on quality of life in Parkinson's disease

IntroductionAlexithymia is a neuropsychiatric symptom conceptualized as difficulty identifying and describing feelings. Although associated with other non-motor symptoms, mainly neuropsychiatric, alexithymia may present as an isolated symptom in persons with Parkinson's Disease (PwP). The objective of the study is to identify determinants of alexithymia and its association with quality of life (QoL) in Parkinson's disease. MethodsSubjects with Parkinson's disease were recruited. The following instruments were applied: Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS-20) and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-8). Matched healthy controls were screened using TAS-20. Clinical and demographical variables were compared between alexithymic and non-alexithymic. Regression models were used to find determinants of alexithymia. Impact of alexithymia on QoL was estimated with a linear regression model. Results98 patients were included. 56.1% PwP and 28.8% controls were alexithymic (p<0.001). Education level (OR 0.86) and NMSS urinary score (OR 1.09) determined alexithymia as well as TAS-20 score. Alexithymia was an independent determinant of QoL. ConclusionsAlexithymia is a prevalent independent non-motor symptom in PwP with impact on QoL. Low education level and urinary symptoms are important determinants of alexithymia.

Alexithymia in People With Recurrent Suicide Attempts.

Background: Alexithymia, an inability to identify or describe emotions, is associated with suicidality yet the correlation with single or repeated suicide attempts is less clear. Aims: We aimed to assess the modifiability of alexithymia following a group psychosocial intervention focused on improving emotional literacy in those with a history of recurrent suicide attempts (RSA). Method: A total of 169 participants with self-reported RSA completed pre- and postgroup assessments of a 20-week group therapy intervention. Questionnaires assessed alexithymia, depression, impulsivity, and hopelessness; the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was the primary outcome. Data were analyzed using multiple imputation. Results: Participants had on average 7.8 lifetime suicide attempts, 73% were female, and 16.6% had a >13-point reduction in TAS-20 scores after 20 weeks. Directed acyclic graph (DAG) analysis demonstrated significant relationships between alexithymia, depression, hopelessness, problem-solving, and satisfaction with life. Age of onset of suicidality was the only factor predictive of postintervention TAS-20 score in univariate linear regression. Limitations: The study limitations were its sample size, insufficient resources, and missing data. Conclusion: A change in TAS scores indicated that alexithymia can be a modifiable treatment target. Being able to identify and describe feelings may lead to improvement in depression, hopelessness, problem-solving, and satisfaction with life in this population.

The mediating role of alexithymia in the association between attachment styles and borderline personality symptomatology.

Attachment insecurity and alexithymia are assumed as the probable causes of emotional dysregulation in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The present study was designed and conducted to examine the mediating role of alexithymia in the relationship between attachment styles and Borderline Personality Symptomatology (BPS). In this crosssectional study, 153 patients with BPD were selected using stratified random sampling among outpatients referring to the psychiatric clinics in three major cities of Iran. Also, they were evaluated through the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS- 20), Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), and BPD Severity Index (BPDSI). On-way ANOVA and then Scheffé post-hoc analysis revealed that the scores of BPS and TAS-20, together with the scores of preoccupied, fearful, and dismissing styles, were higher in the alexithymia group, whereas the scores of secure style were greater in the non-alexithymia group. Furthermore, the results of hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that alexithymia mediated the association between secure, preoccupied, and fearful styles and BPS based on the model proposed by Baron and Kenny. Hence, modifying the alexithymia need to be a goal of psychotherapy. In this regard, changing the effects of the problematic attachment styles via increasing emotional awareness may be effective in modifying alexithymia and BPS.

Is alexithymia related to retention and relapses in patients with substance use disorders?: A one year follow-up study

Alexithymia is related to a higher severity of substance use disorders (SUD); however, few longitudinal studies have been performed on how alexithymia impacts treatment outcomes. This study aims to evaluate alexithymia as a factor that could influence retention and the time of the first relapse in a one-year follow-up in an outpatient treatment center for SUD. In total, 126 SUD outpatients (74.60% males; M age = 43.71, SD = 14.61 years) were evaluated at baseline with an AdHoc questionnaire for sociodemographic variables, the European Addiction Severity Index (EuropASI), the Semi-structured Clinical Interview for Axis I and Axis II Disorders of the DSM-IV, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). The prevalence of alexithymia was 41.3% and the mean score of TAS-20, was 57.27 (SD = 12.84). At baseline, alexithymia was related to a lower education level, cannabis use disorder, the psychological item of EuropASI, and mood spectrum disorders. In the Kaplan-Meier analysis, SUD patients with alexithymia were in treatment for less time and presented earlier relapses than non-alexithymic patients. In the Cox regression, alexithymia was only associated with less time in treatment. Therefore, alexithymia may have an important role in the outcomes of SUD treatment, and hence, therapeutic approaches for SUD that cover emotional impairments associated with alexithymia should be investigated and developed.