Association of alexithymia and depression symptom severity in adults aged 50 years and older

Alexithymia is a characteristic style of thinking and feeling involving deficits in the recognition of emotions. It is associated with depression onset and severity in younger adults, but researchers have not yet examined the association between alexithymia and depression severity in clinically depressed older adults.

Cross-sectional.

One hundred thirty-four patients aged 50 years or older with a confirmed Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Axis I mood disorder and currently receiving mental health treatment.

Alexithymia was measured using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, a 20-item measure with subscales assessing difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings (DDF), and externally oriented thinking. Depression symptom severity was measured using the Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-II).

Total alexithymia scores were independently related to depressive symptom severity after controlling for demographics, cognitive functioning, and illness burden. DIF and DDF subscale scores were also independently associated with BDI-II scores.

The association between alexithymia and depression symptom severity could be attributed to difficulties in recognizing and describing negative emotions and resulting delays in seeking mental health treatment. Future research should focus on modifiable risk factors related to difficulties identifying and describing feelings.