Is alexithymia affected by situational stress or is it a stable trait related to emotion regulation?

Numerous studies have found alexithymia to be negatively associated with psychological distress. However, the nature of such an association remains unclear and controversial. Whereas some authors consider alexithymia as a stable personality trait constituting a vulnerability factor regarding mental...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality and individual differences 2006-05, Vol.40 (7), p.1399-1408
Main Authors: Mikolajczak, Moïra, Luminet, Olivier
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affectivity. Emotion
Alexithymia
Biological and medical sciences
Emotional regulation
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Mental health
Personality. Affectivity
Psychological distress
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Stress
Temporal stability
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Summary:Numerous studies have found alexithymia to be negatively associated with psychological distress. However, the nature of such an association remains unclear and controversial. Whereas some authors consider alexithymia as a stable personality trait constituting a vulnerability factor regarding mental disorders, other authors view it as a defensive mechanism secondary to the occurrence of psychological distress. The present prospective study (12 weeks follow-up) examines the stability of alexithymia in the context of acute changes in the level of psychological distress. Contrary to most previous studies that have examined alexithymia stability after a reduction in psychological distress, this study examines alexithymia stability in the context of increase in psychological distress. Four indicators of stability were considered: absolute, mean-level, rank-order and relative stability. Although not absolutely stable, alexithymia was found to show a high degree of relative stability despite the acute increase in psychological distress.
ISSN:0191-8869
1873-3549
DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2005.10.020