Relationship between somatosensory amplification and alexithymia in a Japanese psychosomatic clinic

To examine the relationship between somatosensory amplification and three factors of alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally oriented thinking), 48 outpatients attending a Japanese psychosomatic clinic and 33 comparative outpatients completed the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Profile of Mood States (POMS), and other self-rating questionnaires. The scores on the SSAS and the first and second TAS-20 factors were higher (all P<0.001) in the psychosomatic group than in the comparison group. The SSAS was positively associated (both P<0.01) with these two TAS-20 factors, controlling for the effects of age, sex, group, and POMS tension-anxiety and depression. Somatosensory amplification appears to be associated with difficulties identifying and describing feelings, not externally oriented thinking, in Japanese patients.