The Relationships between Early Trauma, Dissociation, and Alexithymia in Alcohol Addiction

Abstract

ObjectiveAddiction is often considered a dissociative behavior that is related to alexithymia and developmental trauma. The study aims were to explore the relationships between early trauma, alexithymia, and dissociation.MethodsA total of 117 (males=60; females=57) alcohol-addicted individuals and 117 healthy individuals (males=60; females=57) were administered a series of self-report questionnaires that assess traumatic experiences, alexithymia, and pathological dissociation.ResultsCorrelation analyses indicated significant correlations between alexithymia, dissociation, and trauma and a significant difference between the target and control groups, with higher alexithymia and dissociation scores in the target group.ConclusionThese findings suggest that trauma, alexithymia, and dissociation are predictors of alcohol addiction.

Personality and Clinical Dimensions of Pathological Gamblers. A Pilot Study

“…Indeed, results are significant and show positive correlations among impulsivity, dissociation and affect dysregulation (measured by the first factor of the TAS-20; see Toneatto et al, 2009;Pace et al, 2013;Craparo et al, 2013;Gori et al, 2014). In accordance with international literature about pathological gambling, we may consider the gambling disorder in rapport with dissociative defenses against traumatic affects related to a history of traumatic experiences.…”

Peer Review #1 of "Impaired emotion recognition is linked to alexithymia in heroin addicts (v0.1)"

“…Several studies (Craparo, 2014;Craparo et al, 2014a;Faraci et al, 2013;Torrado, Ouakinin & Bacelar-Nicolau, 2013;Craparo et al, 2014b;Craparo et al, 2014c) have linked alexithymia to addiction. Moreover, alexithymia has been associated with deficits in emotion recognition performance (e.g., see Taylor & Bagby, 2013).…”

“…Less motivation, in turn, may lead to more alexithymic behaviour. For these reasons, one could hypothesize a key role of alexithymia in the emotional recognition deficit of addicts, given the relevance of this disorder in this clinical condition (Craparo, 2014;Craparo et al, 2014a;Faraci et al, 2013;Torrado, Ouakinin & Bacelar-Nicolau, 2013;Craparo et al, 2014b;Craparo et al, 2014c). Indeed, as reported by Farges et al, (2004), the prevalence of alexithymia in addicts is 43.5%, compared to 24.6% in healthy controls, as documented by using the TAS-20.…”

Schwierigkeiten der Emotionsregulation bei alkoholabhängigen Patienten mit komorbiden posttraumatischen Belastungsstörungen

“…Hierbei ist zu berücksichtigen, dass auch die Alko holabhängigkeit selbst als dysfunktionale Emotionsregulations strategie betrachtet werden kann, um traumaassoziierte negative Emotionen durch den Konsum zu regulieren [21,40,57,58]. So wurden bereits in vorherigen Studien Zusammenhänge zwischen Alexithymie und emotionaler oder körperlicher Misshandlung bei substanzabhängigen Patienten berichtet [59,60]. In unserer Stu die fanden wir bei alkoholabhängigen Patienten mit komorbiden posttraumatischen Belastungsstörungen im Mittel deutlich höhe re Werte an Schwierigkeiten der Emotionsregulation im Vergleich zu den berichteten Werten in früheren Studien an Teilnehmern mit Alkoholabhängigkeit ohne komorbide posttraumatische Belas tungsstörungen (Schwierigkeiten der Emotionsregulation bei Al koholabhängigkeit ohne komorbide PTBS: M = 73, SD nicht berich tet; vs. Alkoholabhängigkeit mit komorbider PTBS: M = 100,0, SD = 20,8; vs. Alkoholabhängigkeit mit KPTBS: M = 117,7, SD = 19,7).…”