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Alexithymia determines the anxiety experienced in skydiving
Tim Woodman1, Michelle Huggins, Christine Le Scanff
1School of Sport, Health, and Exercise Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd LL57 2DG, UK. t.woodman@bangor.ac.uk
Journal of Affective Disorders
|December 24, 2008
Summary
High-risk activities may help individuals with alexithymia (difficulty identifying emotions) regulate their feelings. Skydivers showed greater anxiety fluctuations, suggesting a unique emotional experience in thrilling environments.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Emotion Regulation
- High-Risk Behavior
Background:
- High-risk activities are often studied through sensation seeking.
- These activities may offer a pathway for individuals with emotional difficulties to experience and manage emotions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of alexithymia in emotional regulation during high-risk activities.
- To explore how individuals with alexithymia experience anxiety in a high-risk context compared to non-alexithymic individuals.
Main Methods:
- 87 skydivers provided anxiety and heart rate data before and after a skydive.
- A repeated measures ANOVA analyzed the interaction between alexithymia and time on anxiety and heart rate.
Main Results:
- A significant interaction between alexithymia and time was found for anxiety (p<.001).
- Alexithymic skydivers exhibited greater anxiety fluctuations than non-alexithymic skydivers.
- Heart rate did not mirror this anxiety interaction; the link between alexithymia and anxiety persisted even when controlling for sensation seeking.
Conclusions:
- High-risk environments might provide a setting for alexithymic individuals to meet their emotion regulation needs.
- Further research is needed to explore potential confounding factors like anhedonia.
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