TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2008//
TI  - Alexithymia and childhood abuse among patients attending primary and psychiatric care: results of the RADEP Study
JO  - Psychosomatics
A1  - Joukamaa, M.
A1  - Luutonen, Sinikka
A1  - von Reventlow, Heinrich Graf
A1  - Patterson, Philip
A1  - Karlsson, Hasse
A1  - Salokangas, Raimo K. R.
SP  - 317
EP  - 325
VL  - 49
IS  - 4
N2  - BACKGROUND: Some authors have suggested that the background of alexithymia is related to affective development during early childhood. OBJECTIVE: Authors studied the associations between alexithymia and childhood emotional neglect and sexual and physical abuse, also taking into account the significance of concomitant psychopathology. METHOD: Associations between childhood difficulties and adulthood alexithymia were studied with samples of primary-care (N=1,033) and mental-health center (N=243) outpatients assessed by The Toronto Alexithymia Scale and questionnaires for depressive, manic, and psychotic symptoms, and childhood difficulties. RESULTS: No association between alexithymia and childhood abuse was found in mental-health center patients. Among primary-care patients, alexithymia total score and difficulty in identifying feelings and difficulty in describing feelings were associated with childhood emotional, sexual, and physical abuse. CONCLUSION: After controlling for psychopathology, there still remained an association with difficulty in identifying feelings and most abuse and neglect variables. These findings serve to strengthen the theory of alexithymia as a developmental process starting in childhood.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0033-3182
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.psy.49.4.317
ID  - ref1
ER  -