Adverse childhood experiences and alexithymia in patients with major depressive disorder

Honkalampi, Kirsi; Flink, Niko; Lehto, Soili M.; Ruusunen, Anu; Koivumaa‐Honkanen, Heli; Valkonen‐Korhonen, Minna; Viinamäki, Heimo

doi:10.1080/08039488.2019.1667430

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Alexithymia further corresponds to impairments of emotional processing (Suslow & Junghanns, 2002) and difficulties in identifying facial expressions (Grynberg et al, 2012; Jongen et al, 2014; Lane et al, 1996, 2000; Parker et al, 1993). Researchers have also confirmed alexithymia as an important risk factor for a range of psychopathologies (Zackheim, 2007) including affective disorders (Honkalampi et al, 2020; Kajanoja et al, 2020; Kefeli et al, 2018), nonsuicidal self-injury (Lüdtke et al, 2016; Sleuwaegen et al, 2017), personality disorders (Sleuwaegen et al, 2017), and eating disorders (Mazzeo & Espelage, 2002). Moreover, the consequences of alexithymics’ emotional deficits extend beyond intrapersonal difficulties.…”

Section: Alexithymia As a Personality Traitmentioning

confidence: 96%

Child maltreatment and alexithymia: A meta-analytic review.

Ditzer¹,

Wong²,

Modi³

et al. 2023

Psychological Bulletin

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Alexithymia refers to difficulties identifying and describing one's emotions. Growing evidence suggests that alexithymia is a key transdiagnostic risk factor. Despite its clinical importance, the etiology of alexithymia is largely unknown. The present study employs meta-analytic methods to summarize findings on the role of one hypothesized antecedent of adult alexithymia, namely child maltreatment. We obtained effect size estimates from 99 independent samples reported in 78 unique sources that reported both child maltreatment history and adult levels of alexithymia. These studies involved a total of 36,141 participants. Using correlation coefficients as our effect size index, we found that child maltreatment was positively related to overall adult alexithymia (r = .23 [.19, .27]). Notably, emotional abuse (r = .18 [.13, .23]), emotional neglect (r = .21 [.16, .26]), and physical neglect (r = .18 [.15, .22]) were the strongest predictors. Effects were moderated by gender, affiliation with clinical versus nonclinical samples, and publication status. Overall results were robust to publication bias and the presence of outliers. These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the complex connection between different types of child maltreatment and alexithymia, providing greater insight into the early environmental influences on alexithymia. Public Significance StatementThis meta-analysis reveals that adult alexithymia, which is defined by difficulties identifying and describing one's emotions, is linked to child maltreatment. These effects are strongest when individuals experience emotional abuse, emotional neglect, or physical neglect as children.

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Section: Alexithymia As a Personality Traitmentioning

confidence: 96%

Child maltreatment and alexithymia: A meta-analytic review.

Ditzer¹,

Wong²,

Modi³

et al. 2023

Psychological Bulletin

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“…It is associated with negative life events in childhood, family environment, interpersonal relationships and social support ( 23 – 25 ). Among these, negative life events in childhood are considered to be the main risk factor for alexithymia, which hinders the ability to identify and express emotions, thereby increasing psychological distress of adolescents ( 26 , 27 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and Correlates of Alexithymia and Its Relationship With Life Events in Chinese Adolescents With Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Wang

Guo

et al. 2021

Front. Psychiatry

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Objectives: The incidence of psychological and behavioral problems and depression among adolescents is increasing year by year, which has become an important public health problem. Alexithymia, as an important susceptible factor of adolescent depression, may continue to develop and strengthen under the stimulation of COVID-19-related stressors. However, no studies have focused on alexithymia in adolescent depression during the pandemic in China. This study aims to investigate the incidence and related factors of alexithymia in adolescent depression during the pandemic.Methods: Three hundred adolescent patients were enrolled from October 2020 to May 2021. The general demographic information of all participants was collected, and the clinical characteristics were assessed by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check (ASLEC) List, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory.Results: The incidence of alexithymia was significantly higher among adolescents with depression (76.45%) during the pandemic. There were significant differences in school bullying, disease severity, ASLEC score, CTQ score and PANSI score between adolescents with and without alexithymia. In addition, learning stress, health and adaptation problems during the pandemic may be influential factors in alexithymia of adolescent depression (P < 0.05).Conclusions: According to the results, we found a high incidence of alexithymia in adolescent depression during the pandemic. More support and attention from families, schools and society is needed to develop preventive and targeted psychological interventions as early as possible.

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“…Research has shown that alexithymia, a disorder characterized in part by an inability to recognize and describe one’s emotions effectively, is highly correlated with depression (Honkalampi et al, 2000 ). Furthermore, research has demonstrated that ACEs are closely associated with the alexithymia construct “difficulty in describing feelings to others” in a population of individuals with major depressive disorder (Honkalampi et al, 2019 ). This may be partially explained by the fact that ACEs may harm one’s abilities to develop effective emotion regulation capacities (Brett et al, 2018 ; Honkalampi et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, research has demonstrated that ACEs are closely associated with the alexithymia construct “difficulty in describing feelings to others” in a population of individuals with major depressive disorder (Honkalampi et al, 2019 ). This may be partially explained by the fact that ACEs may harm one’s abilities to develop effective emotion regulation capacities (Brett et al, 2018 ; Honkalampi et al, 2019 ). Therefore, it is logical that the describe facet of mindfulness may be an important mediator in the relationship between ACEs and depression.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mindfulness as a mediator and moderator in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and depression

et al. 2021

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Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with a variety of negative physical and psychological health outcomes. The mechanisms by which this occurs and potential protective factors present in this relationship are understudied. Mindfulness is a cognitive resource that may protect individuals against symptoms of psychological distress. It has five core facets and encourages a nonjudgmental acceptance of the present moment. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of mindfulness in the relationship between ACEs and depression, both as a mediator and as a moderator, or protective factor. We hypothesized that the aware, describe, and non-judgement facets of mindfulness would be key factors in both sets of analyses. Participants at a university ( N = 279) were given the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale (ACES), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) to measure depression. Results indicated that the describe CI [.02, .11], aware CI [.05, .17], and non-judgement CI [.06, .18] facets of mindfulness significantly mediated the relationship between ACEs and depression. Additionally, the aware facet of mindfulness was also a significant moderator in this relationship, [ t (interaction) = −3.22, p < 0.01], such that individuals with a high level of awareness had no increase in depression even as the number of ACEs increased. Negative cognitions associated with ACEs may harm one’s ability to effectively describe their feelings and to be fully aware of the present moment, which may contribute to symptoms of depression. Implications for mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are discussed.

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Adverse childhood experiences and alexithymia in patients with major depressive disorder

Cited by 11 publications

References 30 publications

Child maltreatment and alexithymia: A meta-analytic review.

Child maltreatment and alexithymia: A meta-analytic review.

Prevalence and Correlates of Alexithymia and Its Relationship With Life Events in Chinese Adolescents With Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mindfulness as a mediator and moderator in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and depression

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