Research on Parenting Style, Alexithymia and Fear of Intimacy among College Students

Abstract

This study mainly explored the relationship existing among parenting style, alexithymia, and fear of intimacy and the mediating role of alexithymia. Chinese Version of the Simplified Parenting Style Questionnaire (S-EMBU-C), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Fear of Intimacy Scale (FIS) was conducted on 686 college students. (1) Results showed that the number of contemporary college students who perceived the emotional warmth of their parents' upbringing was above the medium level. College students' alexithymia scores were below the average level. College students scored above the average level of fear of intimacy. There was significant correlation between parenting style, Alexithymia and fear of intimacy. (2) Parental rejection and overprotection positively predicted intimacy fear of college students; Affective warmth of parents negatively predicted fear of intimacy. (3) Alexithymia played a mediating role between paternity rejection factor (p-value0.016), maternal overprotection factor (p-value 0.005) and intimacy fear in college students. The influence of father's rejection and mother's over-protective parenting style on college students' fear of intimacy can also be realized through the mediating role of alexithymia. This finding has important implications for the effective intervention of intimate fear in college students.