Psychopathology and Verbal Expression in Psychosomatic and Psychoneurotic Patients

The purported association between alexithymia and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was investigated in a group of 112 IBD patients (89 with ulcerative colitis and 23 with Crohn’s disease) using the well-validated 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Alexithymia was assessed also in a group of 112 normal subjects matched for gender, age, and education. The IBD group was significantly more alexithymic than the control group, and no significant difference was found between the ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease patients. Alexithymia was unrelated to the duration of illness and the level of disease activity. Although the rate of alexithymia in the IBD group (35.7%) was significantly higher than the rate in the control group (4.5%), it is lower than rates of alexithymia that have been found among psychiatric patients with disorders that also have been linked theoretically and clinically with alexithymia.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alexithymia in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Porcelli¹,

Zaka²,

Leoci³

et al. 1995

“…Consequently, alexithymia is understood as a deficit in emotional and cognitive regulatory processes that are required for symbolic function, fantasy and empathy. Early studies, prior to the development of a psychometrically sound instrument, suggested a high prevalence of alexithymia in UC compared to irritable bowel syndrome [50]and psychoneurotic controls [51]and decreased verbal content on emotional tasks in UC and CD patients [52, 53]. A recent case-control study of 112 IBD patients using the validated Toronto Alexithymia Scale found a rate of alexithymia of 35.7%, significantly greater than the rate in healthy controls of 4.5% [54], and these alexithymia scores appear to be stable over time [55].…”

Section: Coping In Ibdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facilitating Adjustment to Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Model of Psychosocial Intervention in Non-Psychiatric Patients

Maunder

Esplen²

1999

Background: There is no consensus about the most appropriate psychosocial interventions for people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or the most appropriate criteria by which to select which patients might benefit from the available interventions. Nonetheless the perception that stress and other subjective factors contribute to suffering in IBD is persistent and professionals are often called upon to offer appropriate support. A model of normal psychosocial adjustment to IBD and the interventions which can improve difficulties with adjustment will facilitate rational therapeutic intervention and needed research in this area. Methods: A model of normal adjustment to IBD is developed from a synthesis of the empirical literature and clinical experience in a tertiary care medical/surgical IBD centre and is used to identify potential points of psychosocial intervention. Results: Normal adjustment to IBD can be understood as a process involving the interaction of a triad of adaptive challenges: illness uncertainty, loss and change, and suffering. Each of these challenges requires different criteria of psychosocial assessment and may lead to different interventions. Conclusions: Although the interventions available for improving adjustment to IBD have not been exhaustively investigated, the existing data support the value of further study. The model of psychosocial adjustment presented here provides a synthesis of the existing data and a starting point for further research.

“…These other instruments are the Schalling-Sifneos Personality Scale [Apfel and Sifneos, 1979], the Thematic Appercep tion Test [Defourny et al, 1976/77;Taylor, 1981Taylor, , 1982, the MMPI alexithymia scale [Kleiger and Kinsman, 1980] and the archety pal 9 test [Demers-Desrosiers, 1982;Cohen et al, 1983].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alexithymia: Comparison with a Patient’s Concept of the Genesis of His Disease and Its Relationship with Depression

Buzov¹

1985

The results of a three-direction investigation of the alexithymic phenomenon are presented. The first part of the investigation is a reduplication study of the first research of alexithymia; the second is devoted to the problem of relationship between depression and psychosomatic diseases. The relationship between the frequency of alexithymic responses in a particular psychosomatic patient and the concept which the patient himself has of the genesis of his disease represent the third part of the investigation.