Externally oriented thinking style increases primary health care use in adolescence

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Alexithymia is linked to increased healthcare utilization in adults.
• The relationship between alexithymia and primary healthcare use in adolescents and young adults requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between alexithymia and primary healthcare service utilization in adolescents and young adults.
• To explore the roles of specific alexithymia facets and depression in healthcare use.

Main Methods:

• A 5-year follow-up study of 751 participants (aged 13-18) assessed alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, TAS-20) and depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI).
• Primary healthcare data were collected from registers; generalized linear models and mediation analyses were employed.

Main Results:

• While total TAS-20 scores correlated with increased visits, this effect was not significant in multivariate models.
• Externally oriented thinking (EOT) independently predicted higher primary and emergency care visits.
• Depression mediated the impact of difficulty identifying feelings (DIF) and difficulty describing feelings (DDF) on visit numbers.

Conclusions:

• Externally oriented thinking is an independent predictor of increased adolescent healthcare use.
• Difficulties identifying and describing feelings influence healthcare use primarily through depression symptoms.
• These findings highlight distinct pathways through which alexithymia traits affect healthcare utilization in young people.