Ability to speak at the age of 1 year and alexithymia 30 years later

We studied the association between speech development in the first year of life and alexithymia in young adulthood.

The study forms a part of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort. The original material consisted of all liveborn children in the provinces of Lapland and Oulu in Finland with an expected delivery date during 1966. The comprehensive data collection began during the antenatal phase. In 1997, a 31-year follow-up study was made on a part of the initial sample. The 20-item version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was given to 5983 subjects. Of them, 84% returned the questionnaire properly filled in. The ability to talk was classified according to whether the child spoke no words, one or two words, or three or more words at the age of 1 year. Statistical analyses on the association between the ability to speak at the age of 1 year and alexithymia at the age of 31 years were performed, adjusted for birth weight, mother's parity, place of residence and wantedness of pregnancy.

The mean of the total TAS score was lowest among early speakers and for both genders separately. The differences were statistically significant. A parallel significant difference was found among males on TAS Factors 2 and 3 and in case of females on TAS Factors 1 and 3.

We found evidence for an association between speaking development in early childhood and later alexithymia. Our results support the theory that alexithymia may be a developmental process starting in early childhood and reinforcing itself in a social context.