Alexithymia in dyadic interactions: Associations with affective and sympathetic nervous system reactivity and empathic accuracy.

Abstract

Alexithymia, defined as difficulty identifying and describing one's own emotions, is associated with poor mental and physical health and low-quality social relationships. These consequences of alexithymia may arise from disrupted emotional communication, making it difficult for others to understand and reduce the distress of a person with alexithymia. In the present study, we examine how alexithymia affects affective and physiological responding to distress and emotional disclosure in newly acquainted female dyads (N = 140; 70 dyads). Between 2015 and 2017, one member of each dyad (the experiencer) was randomly assigned to undergo a stressful task and disclose negative personal experiences to their partner (the listener). Dyads viewed a video playback of their interactions while first continuously rating their own and then their partner's emotional valence to quantify how accurately partners rated each other's emotional valence. Results revealed that experiencers higher in alexithymia had greater sympathetic nervous system reactivity during the stressful task and emotional disclosure. Additionally, the emotional valence of individuals with alexithymia was rated less accurately by their partner. These findings suggest that the social challenges of alexithymia may stem from difficulties conveying emotions in ways that others can effectively interpret and support. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).