Alexithymia and anxiety: compounded relationships? A psychometric study

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Alexithymia, characterized by difficulty identifying and describing emotions, is often studied in relation to psychological distress.
• Anxiety, encompassing both state (temporary) and trait (long-term) forms, is a common mental health concern.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationships between the multidimensional aspects of alexithymia and both state and trait anxiety.
• To investigate these associations within a subclinical population of female college students.

Main Methods:

• Administered a test battery including the 26-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS26), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QD2A) to 125 female college students.
• Utilized correlation and partial correlation analyses to explore the interrelationships between alexithymia, anxiety, and depression.
• Employed pathway analyses to test a postulated descriptive model of these relationships.

Main Results:

• Found significant positive correlations between depression, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and alexithymia scores.
• Partial correlations indicated a strong association between trait anxiety and alexithymia.
• Different dimensions of alexithymia showed varied correlations with anxiety, supporting its multidimensional nature.

Conclusions:

• Alexithymia and anxiety (both state and trait) are positively related in a subclinical female student population.
• Trait anxiety appears to be particularly closely linked to alexithymia.
• A descriptive model illustrating the interplay between depression, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and alexithymia was supported by the data.