Depression and interpersonal problems in adolescents: their relationship with alexithymia and coping styles

The aim of the present research was to determine whether depression and interpersonal problems had relationships with alexithymia and coping styles in adolescents.

The study population was randomly selected from all of the adolescent students in the schools of Sari in Iran; 441 adolescents (228 boys and 213 girls) were included in the study. The participants completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, and the Beck Depression Inventory. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and was expressed in means, standard deviations, and Pearson correlation coefficient.

Alexithymia was related to depression and interpersonal problems; the adolescents who defined themselves as more alexithymic obtained higher scores in depression and interpersonal problems than the adolescents who classified themselves as less- and non-alexithymic. Furthermore, coping styles were related to depression and interpersonal problems. Regression analyses showed that both alexithymia and coping styles accounted for a unique and significant proportion of the variance in depression and interpersonal problems in adolescents.

These findings support the positive correlation of alexithymia and maladaptive coping styles with depression and interpersonal problems.