Alexithymia and psychological symptomatology: research conducted on a non-clinical group of Italian adolescents

Q1 Social Sciences

International Journal of Culture and Mental Health Pub Date : 2017-04-07 DOI:10.1080/17542863.2017.1307434

Monica Pellerone, M. Cascio, Giulia Costanzo, A. Gori, Ugo Pace, G. Craparo

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引用次数: 29

Abstract

ABSTRACT Alexithymia can be considered as a defense mechanism against emotions associated with traumatic experiences that are perceived as too severe and traumatic. Due to the overwhelming nature of a traumatic event, there might be a rapid regression of affect to a pre-conceptual level of organization: so, the capacity to tolerate affect and the capacity to identify and verbalize feelings decrease. The aim of this cross-sectional study is to evaluate the trend of the correlation between psychological effects of possible childhood trauma and alexithymia in a non-clinical group of 389 Sicilian students (192 males and 197 females), aged 11–16 (M = 12.87; SD = 0.80), attending middle and secondary schools. The following instruments were used: 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children. Correlation analyses seem to support the hypothesis of a relation between age and the following scales: anger, overt dissociation, sexual concerns and preoccupation; and the presence of correlations between gender and anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, and fantasy. The multiple linear regression seems to indicate that a higher level of post-traumatic stress might be a predictor of the level of alexithymia. The results confirm that alexithymia is a well-established personality construct that could inhibit and interfere with normal affect regulating abilities.

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述情障碍和心理症状学:对意大利青少年非临床组进行的研究

述情障碍可以被认为是一种防御机制，可以抵抗与创伤经历相关的情绪，这些情绪被认为过于严重和创伤。由于创伤性事件的压倒性性质，情感可能会迅速回归到概念前的组织水平:因此，容忍情感的能力以及识别和表达情感的能力都会下降。本横断面研究的目的是评估非临床组389名11-16岁西西里学生(男192名，女197名)的心理影响与述情障碍之间的相关性趋势(M = 12.87;SD = 0.80)，上初中和初中。使用的工具如下:20项多伦多述情障碍量表和儿童创伤症状检查表。相关分析似乎支持年龄与以下量表之间关系的假设:愤怒、明显的分离、性关注和专注;性别与焦虑，抑郁，创伤后应激和幻想之间存在相关性。多元线性回归似乎表明，较高水平的创伤后应激可能是述情障碍水平的预测因子。结果证实述情障碍是一种成熟的人格结构，可以抑制和干扰正常的情绪调节能力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Culture and Mental Health Social Sciences-Cultural Studies

CiteScore

2.10

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： This title has ceased (2018). This important peer-review journal provides an innovative forum, both international and multidisciplinary, for addressing cross-cultural issues and mental health. Culture as it comes to bear on mental health is a rapidly expanding area of inquiry and research within psychiatry and psychology, and other related fields such as social work, with important implications for practice in the global context. The journal is an essential resource for health care professionals working in the field of cross-cultural mental health.Readership includes psychiatrists, psychologists, medical anthropologists, medical sociologists, psychiatric nurses and social workers, general practitioners and other mental health professionals interested in the area. The International Journal of Culture and Mental Health publishes original empirical research, review papers and theoretical articles in the fields of cross-cultural psychiatry and psychology. Contributions from the fields of medical anthropology and medical sociology are particularly welcome. A continuing dialogue between members of various disciplines in various fields is encouraged. The aim of the journal is to encourage its readers to think about various issues which have clouded cross-cultural development of ideas. The journal lays special emphasis on developing further links between medical anthropology, medical sociology, clinical psychiatry and psychology, and implications of the findings on service provisions. The journal is published four times a year. The style of reference is Harvard. All research articles in this journal, including those in special issues, special sections or supplements, have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by at least two independent referees.