The relationship of alexithymia with depression, anxiety, stress, and fatigue among people under addiction treatment

Nezhad, Shokoofeh Rostami; Rad, Mohammad Mazloumi; Farrokhi, Nazanin; Viesy, Fatemeh; Ghahari, Shahrbanoo

doi:10.4103/atmph.atmph_589_17

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Stress was also shown to be associated with alexithymia, similar to previous findings as well [81–83]. It seems that people with alexithymia use defensive mechanisms such as denial and repression of their emotions, while suppressing these emotions would lead to an intensity of negative emotions, anxiety, and depression [84].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Factors associated with alexithymia among the Lebanese population: results of a cross-sectional study

Obeïd

Akel

Haddad³

et al. 2019

BMC Psychol

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BackgroundTo our knowledge, no research project on alexithymia has been conducted in Lebanon. The objective of this study was to assess risk factors associated with alexithymia in a representative sample of the Lebanese population.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study, conducted between November 2017 and March 2018, which enrolled 789 participants from al districts of Lebanon. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was used to measure alexithymia, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test to assess alcohol use, drinking patterns, and alcohol-related issues, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale to evaluate self-worth, the Hamilton depression rating scale and Hamilton Anxiety Scale to screen for depression and anxiety respectively, the Three-Dimensional Work Fatigue Inventory to measure physical, mental and emotional work fatigue respectively, the Columbia–Suicide Severity Rating Scale to evaluate suicidal ideation and behavior, the Perceived Stress Scale to measure stress, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale to help identify a social anxiety disorder and the Quick Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment to measure emotional intelligence.ResultsThe results showed that 395 (50.4%) were not alexithymic, 226 (28.8%) were possible alexithymic, whereas 163 (20.8%) were alexithymic according to established clinical cutoffs. Stress (Beta = 0.456), emotional exhaustion (Beta = 0.249), the AUDIT score (Beta = 0.225) and anxiety (Beta = 0.096) were associated with higher alexithymia, whereas low emotional work fatigue (Beta = −0.114) and being married (Beta = −1.933) were associated with lower alexithymia.People in distress (Beta = 7.33) was associated with higher alexithymia scores, whereas people with high wellbeing (Beta = −2.18), an intermediate (Beta = −2.90) and a high (Beta = −2.71) family monthly income were associated with lower alexithymia compared to a low one.ConclusionAlexithymia appears to be influenced by many factors, including stress, anxiety, and burnout. To reduce its prevalence, it is important that health professionals educate the public about these factors. Further studies on a larger scale are needed to confirm our findings.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Factors associated with alexithymia among the Lebanese population: results of a cross-sectional study

Obeïd

Akel

Haddad³

et al. 2019

BMC Psychol

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“…Such difficulty in describing the emotions represents that the person cannot express his or her intrinsic world. The lack of this skill in people with alexithymia leads to decreased social support from other people and social isolation, which cause or exacerbate the social phobia [34]. When the processing of emotional information is disrupted, the people perform poorly in interpersonal interactions, which results in social phobia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Mediating Role of Defensive Mechanisms in the Relationship between Social Phobia and Alexithymia in University Students

Nasiri

Donyavi

Dousti

2020

J Holist Nurs Midwifery

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Introduction: Psychological factors play a key role in people's emotional responses to different social situations. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of defense mechanisms in the relationship between social phobia and alexithymia, in the students of Farhangian University, Sari City, Iran. Materials and Methods: This was an analytical, correlational study that specifically used structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all students of the Farhangian University of Sari city, Iran, in the academic year of 2019-2020. A sample of 234 people was recruited with the available sampling method. The social phobia inventory, defense mechanism questionnaire, and Toronto alexithymia scale were used to measure the research variables. Finally, the proposed model was evaluated using structural equation modeling. Results: The results showed that social phobia variables, undeveloped defensive mechanisms, and psychotic defensive mechanisms are positively correlated with alexithymia. Also, there is a significant negative correlation between developed defensive style and alexithymia (P = 0.001). The results indicated significant correlations of social phobia (r = 0.28), undeveloped defensive style (r = 0.31), psychotic defensive style (r = 0.28), and developed defensive style (r = -0.30) with alexithymia (P = 0.001). Moreover, the research model was approved: defensive mechanisms mediate the relationship between social phobia and alexithymia in the students. The defensive mechanisms and social phobia affect 48% of the alexithymia variable. Conclusion: The students with adaptive defensive mechanisms experience lower social phobia and alexithymia symptoms. Also, social phobia indirectly affects alexithymia through the mediating role of defense mechanisms.

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How Does Psychological Distress Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Internet Addiction and Instagram Addiction in Emerging Adults?

Ballarotto

Marzilli

Cerniglia

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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International research has underlined a worrying increase in Internet and Instagram addiction among emerging adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the role played by alexithymia and psychological distress due to COVID-19 has been evidenced, no study has explored their complex relationship in predicting emerging adults’ Internet and Instagram addiction. The present study aimed to verify whether peritraumatic distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic mediated the relationship between emerging adults’ alexithymia and their Internet/Instagram addiction, in a sample composed of n = 400 Italian emerging adults. Results showed that females had higher peritraumatic distress due to COVID-19 than males, whereas males had higher externally oriented thinking and higher levels of Internet addiction than females. Emerging adults’ psychological distress due to COVID-19 significantly mediated the effect of alexithymia on Internet and Instagram addiction. Our findings supported the presence of a dynamic relationship between individual vulnerabilities and the co-occurrence of other psychological difficulties in predicting emerging adults’ Internet and Instagram addiction during the pandemic, with important clinical implications.

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The relationship of alexithymia with depression, anxiety, stress, and fatigue among people under addiction treatment

Cited by 3 publications

References 3 publications

Factors associated with alexithymia among the Lebanese population: results of a cross-sectional study

Factors associated with alexithymia among the Lebanese population: results of a cross-sectional study

The Mediating Role of Defensive Mechanisms in the Relationship between Social Phobia and Alexithymia in University Students

How Does Psychological Distress Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Internet Addiction and Instagram Addiction in Emerging Adults?

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