The Strong, Silent Type(ology): Examining Intersections of Alexithymia and the Drive for Muscularity

Abstract

This study used latent profile analysis to explore the interrelations of drive for muscularity (DM) and alexithymia among 505 men. Four unique classes of men emerged: (1) low endorsement of DM and alexithymia, (2) moderate endorsement of alexithymia and DM, (3) moderate endorsement of alexithymia and high endorsement of attitudinal and behavioral DM, and (4) high endorsement of DM attitudes and alexithymia, and low endorsement of DM behaviors. We explored relations between class membership and avoidant attachment, social pressure to be muscular, helpseeking attitudes, and body appreciation, using Class 1 as the reference group. Alexithymia and attitudinal DM, in the absence of behavioral DM, appear to be a particularly unhealthful constellation of alexithymia and DM.

Conceptual and Application Considerations of Emotionally Focused Therapy With White Heterosexual Working-Class Rural Males

“…Bowlby (1982) proposed an attachment system that coordinates partners’ emotional and behavioral responses in times of distress. Attachment styles are sets of cognitive rules based on a person’s childhood experiences (Parent & Bradstreet, 2019). Socialization practices that minimize, punish, or otherwise discourage emotional experience and expression may contribute to perceptions of emotions as dangerous, uncontrollable, and requiring suppression (Sauer & Baer, 2010).…”

“…Avoidant attachment is related to difficulty identifying and describing feelings (Meins et al, 2008). Avoidant attachment is a form of insecure attachment and reflects preoccupation with rejection or abandonment (Parent & Bradstreet, 2019). Alexithymic traits are more pronounced among men who reported more symptoms of separation anxiety during childhood (Parent & Bradstreet, 2019).…”

“…Avoidant attachment is a form of insecure attachment and reflects preoccupation with rejection or abandonment (Parent & Bradstreet, 2019). Alexithymic traits are more pronounced among men who reported more symptoms of separation anxiety during childhood (Parent & Bradstreet, 2019). Alexithymia and avoidant attachment have been correlated, unsurprisingly because of the association between avoidant attachment and lowered emotional intelligence (Parent & Bradstreet, 2019).…”

“…Contrastingly, positive feelings of happiness, compassion, and intimacy are often experienced as anxiety provoking, uncomfortable, and undeserved (Edwards et al, 2017). Men’s scores on alexithymia measures were more strongly associated with discomfort with closeness, views of relationships as secondary, need for approval, and low confidence subscales from an attachment styles measure (Parent & Bradstreet, 2019). Specific sociopolitical factors (heterosexual, male) of the population have been explored; the Identity Politics section examines additional aspects of the populations’ intersectional identity: White, working-class, and rural.…”

“…Counselors should expect male clients to have presenting concerns associated with internalized masculine norms. For men to benefit from counseling, counselors need to be able to conceptualize men through a lens of masculine socialization rather than one of intrapsychic or interpersonal pathology (Parent & Bradstreet, 2019). A counselor’s awareness of how socialization experiences affect men’s lives and well-being will improve counseling efficacy (Englar-Carlson & Shepard, 2005).…”