Related Experiment Videos
Is alexithymia a non-neurotic personality dimension?
I A Rubino1, S Grasso, A Sonnino
1Department of Psychiatry, IInd University of Rome, Italy.
The British Journal of Medical Psychology
|December 1, 1991
Summary
This study found neurotic and delusional patients exhibit higher alexithymia levels than psychosomatic patients, challenging prior research. Alexithymia is linked to neuroticism, not solely psychosomatic conditions.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
Background:
- Alexithymia is theorized to be more prevalent in psychosomatic disorders than neurotic conditions.
- The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) is a validated instrument for assessing alexithymia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To empirically test the hypothesis regarding alexithymia prevalence across different patient groups.
- To investigate the relationship between alexithymia and neuroticism.
Main Methods:
- Administered the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) to psychosomatic patients (N=150), neurotic/delusional patients (N=71), and a normal control group (N=224).
- Compared TAS scores across these groups and analyzed TAS factors.
- Cross-validated findings using subgroups within the normal sample (symptom-free, somatizing, neurotic controls).
Main Results:
- Neurotic and delusional patients scored significantly higher on the TAS than psychosomatic patients.
- Normal controls had the lowest TAS scores, as predicted.
- Higher scores in neurotic/delusional groups were observed for difficulty distinguishing feelings from bodily sensations and difficulty expressing feelings.
- Psychiatric patients scored lowest on the lack of fantasy life factor.
Conclusions:
- The findings contradict the postulate that alexithymia is non-neurotic.
- Alexithymia appears to have a higher prevalence in neurotic and delusional disorders than previously hypothesized.
- The study challenges existing psychopathological and technical assumptions about alexithymia.