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Alexithymia and dissociative tendencies

H J Irwin1, E B Melbin-Helberg

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia.

Journal of Clinical Psychology
|February 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary

This study found that alexithymia, difficulty identifying emotions, is linked to dissociation, a coping style often seen in trauma survivors. Affective fluency did not predict dissociation, suggesting specific alexithymia traits are key.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Trauma Studies

Background:

  • Clinicians observe traumatized children with dissociative coping styles struggle to verbally identify emotions.
  • This observation suggests a potential link between dissociation and difficulties in emotional processing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between dissociation and alexithymia (difficulty identifying and describing emotions).
  • To explore whether affective variables, specifically alexithymia and affective fluency, predict dissociative tendencies.

Main Methods:

  • Undergraduate psychology students were assessed for dissociative tendencies.
  • Participants completed measures of alexithymic characteristics and their ability to generate emotion names (affective fluency).

Main Results:

  • Certain aspects of alexithymia were found to predict dissociative tendencies.
  • Affective fluency was not a significant predictor of dissociation.
  • The findings suggest a nuanced relationship between emotional processing deficits and dissociation.

Conclusions:

  • The study supports the hypothesis that alexithymia is associated with dissociative tendencies.
  • The results are interpreted through the lens of asymmetry in dissociative processes.
  • Further research into the specific mechanisms linking alexithymia and dissociation is warranted.

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