Citation

Larsson MR, Bäckström M, Michel PO, Lundh LG. Scand. J. Psychol. 2010; 51(4): 350-355.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Magnus_R.Larsson@psychology.lu.se

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Scandinavian Psychological Associations, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-9450.2010.00807.x

PMID

20210912

Abstract

We applied a prospective design to reinvestigate the issue whether the sub-domains of alexithymia could be considered stable traits or distress-related states. Assessments of alexithymia and subjective distress were conducted before deployment to Kosovo in a sample of male peacekeepers. A second assessment was conducted approximately six months later during the final phase of service. The results showed evidence of moderate to high relative stability in all alexithymic sub-domains. It was also found that a relative change in subjective distress predicted a relative change in difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings but not in externally oriented thinking. We suggest therefore that the alexithymic sub-domains could be considered relatively stable traits but that the level of difficulty identifying and describing feeling varies with the level of subjective distress.

Language: en