Influence of alexithymia on symbolic function

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychosomatic Medicine
• Psychology

Background:

• Alexithymia is a personality construct characterized by difficulties in identifying and expressing emotions.
• Symbolic function is crucial for psychological processing and is often impaired in psychosomatic disorders.
• The Archetypal Test with Nine Elements (AT9) and the Sifneos psychosomatic questionnaire are tools used to assess symbolic function and alexithymia, respectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of alexithymia on symbolic function in patients with psychosomatic problems.
• To explore the relationship between the degree of alexithymia and the level of symbolic function impairment.
• To contribute to the understanding of the interplay between emotional processing and psychosomatic symptoms.

Main Methods:

• The study involved 49 hospitalized patients presenting with physical symptoms indicative of psychosomatic disorders.
• Patients completed the Archetypal Test with Nine Elements (AT9) to assess symbolic function and a psychosomatic questionnaire to measure alexithymia.
• Data analysis focused on correlating scores from the alexithymia assessment with the quality of symbolic representation in the AT9.

Main Results:

• 13 out of 49 patients were not alexithymic, exhibiting symbolic function comparable to the general population.
• 36 patients showed varying degrees of alexithymia, with all demonstrating abnormal symbolic function.
• Patients with higher alexithymia scores (7-8) exhibited the most significant impairment, with 12 out of 18 showing no evidence of mythical micro-universe creation in the AT9.

Conclusions:

• Alexithymia demonstrably influences and disorganizes symbolic function, with the degree of impairment correlating with the severity of alexithymia.
• The findings support the hypothesis that alexithymia plays a significant role in the manifestation and experience of psychosomatic symptoms.
• The study suggests a potential distinction within the alexithymic population (primary vs. secondary forms) based on symbolic function characteristics.