Being alexithymic: Necessity or convenience. Negative emotionality × avoidant coping interactions and alexithymia

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Personality Psychology

Background:

• Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by difficulties identifying and describing emotions.
• Negative emotionality and avoidant coping are frequently associated with psychological distress and maladaptive functioning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the interplay between negative emotionality, avoidant coping, and alexithymia.
• To test the hypothesis that negative emotionality and avoidant strategies interact in their association with alexithymia.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional designs were employed in two studies (N=415) conducted in Italy and the US.
• Participants completed self-report measures assessing alexithymia, avoidant coping, negative emotionality, and experiential avoidance.

Main Results:

• A significant interaction between avoidant coping and negative emotionality was found to predict alexithymia in both studies.
• Experiential avoidance mediated the interaction effect, suggesting a pathway where avoidance moderates the relationship between negative emotionality and alexithymia.

Conclusions:

• Two distinct psychological pathways to alexithymia emerge: one driven by a preference for avoidance and another by negative emotionality.
• Findings suggest that alexithymia may develop through habitual avoidance, irrespective of negative emotionality, offering insights for therapeutic interventions.