Alexithymia: relationship with ego defense and coping styles

There is controversy in the literature as to whether alexithymia reflects a deficit in the cognitive processing of emotions or a defensive coping style. Previous studies with clinical populations reported a strong association between alexithymia and a maladaptive (immature) ego defense style. The present study was designed to examine this relationship in nonclinical populations, and also to explore the relationships between alexithymia and three general styles for coping with stressful situations. Sample 1, 287 nonclinical adults, completed the Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ). Sample 2, 83 undergraduate students who had been categorized previously into alexithymic and nonalexithymic subgroups, completed the DSQ and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). In sample 1, the TAS-20 and its three factors were associated most strongly with an immature defense style, weakly with a neurotic defense style, and negatively with a mature defense style. In sample 2, alexithymic students scored significantly higher than nonalexithymic students on the immature and neurotic defense factors of the DSQ and significantly lower on the mature defense factor. Alexithymic students also scored significantly higher on the emotion-oriented coping scale and the distraction component of the avoidance-oriented coping scale of the CISS and significantly lower on the task-oriented coping scale. The results fail to support the view that alexithymia is an adaptive defense or coping style.