Relationship between alexithymia, dissociation and anxiety in psychiatric outpatients from Turkey

Several studies have examined the relationship between dissociation and alexithymia. In this study, the objective was to investigate whether there was a relationship between alexithymia, dissociation and state and trait anxiety in psychiatric outpatients. The evaluations of psychiatric outpatients (n=154) were based on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Dissociative Experiences Scale and the State and Trait Anxiety Index. The data were analyzed using chi2 test and multiple covariance analyses. Subjects with alexithymia (46.8%) were significantly less educated and showed higher state and trait anxiety. The mean Toronto Alexithymia Scale total score of the female and male patients was similar. The mean Dissociative Experiences Scale score of the study group was 10.8 (sd=9.8, ranged 0 to 45). A multivariate analysis of covariance showed that state and trait anxiety was a significant covariant for the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-Difficulty Identifying Feelings subscale. Only the trait anxiety was a significant covariant for the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-Difficulty Expressing Feelings subscale. The overall main effect of dissociation was not significant on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale total and subscales. These data suggest that dissociation is fundamentally a different construct from alexithymia, while state and trait anxiety are closely related to alexithymia.