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Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
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Childhood maltreatment and alexithymia: A network analysis
Yang Liu1, Sihan Liu1, David A Preece2
1Beijing Normal University, Faculty of Psychology, China.
Journal of Affective Disorders
|December 20, 2025
Summary
Childhood emotional abuse and neglect are strongly linked to difficulties identifying emotions in adolescents. Specific maltreatment types show gender-based differences in their impact on emotional processing.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Child Development
Background:
- Childhood maltreatment is a significant risk factor for alexithymia, characterized by emotional processing difficulties.
- Specific links between maltreatment subtypes and alexithymia facets require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To clarify the associations between distinct childhood maltreatment subtypes and specific alexithymia facets in adolescents.
- To explore gender differences in these associations.
Main Methods:
- Network analysis of data from 2447 Chinese adolescents (aged 16-22).
- Identification of central components and key links between maltreatment subtypes and alexithymia facets.
- Network comparison tests to assess gender differences.
Main Results:
- Emotional abuse and neglect were central nodes, strongly associated with difficulty identifying feelings.
- Emotional abuse linked to difficulty identifying feelings (r=0.16); emotional neglect linked to externally oriented thinking (r=0.13).
- Gender differences observed: physical neglect more strongly linked to difficulty identifying feelings in girls; physical abuse linked to difficulty describing feelings only in girls.
Conclusions:
- Distinct childhood maltreatment subtypes are linked to specific alexithymia facets through central mechanisms.
- Significant gender-specific patterns in the maltreatment-alexithymia relationship were identified.
- Findings may guide targeted interventions for emotional difficulties stemming from early adversity.
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