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Alexithymia — State or Trait?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2014

Francisco Martínez-Sánchez ,
Manuel Ato-García  and
Beatriz Ortiz-Soria
Francisco Martínez-Sánchez*
Affiliation:
University of Murcia
Manuel Ato-García
Affiliation:
University of Murcia
Beatriz Ortiz-Soria
Affiliation:
University of Murcia
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Francisco Martínez-Sánchez, Departamento de Psicología Básica y Metodología. Facultad de Psicología, Edificio Luis Vives, Universidad de Murcia, Apartado 4021, 30080 Murcia (Spain). E-mail: franms@fcu.um.es
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Abstract

Alexithymia refers to a specific disturbance in emotional processing that is manifested by difficulties in identifying and verbalizing feelings and a tendency to focus on and amplify the somatic sensations that accompany emotional arousal. Alexithymia is conceptualized both as an affect-deficit disorder and a continuous personality variable. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the stability levels of alexithymia with regard to changes in emotional distress levels caused by university exams. We tested 20 university students at four different times, before and after the exams. Alexithymic features and self-reported emotional distress (trait anxiety and physical symptoms) were measured. Whereas emotional distress measures changed significantly during the diverse phases, the level of alexithymia remained unchanged. We therefore conclude that alexithymia represents a constant trait.

La alexitimia describe un trastorno en el procesamiento emocional, manifestado mediante una marcada dificultad para identificar y expresar afectos, así como una tendencia a amplificar las sensaciones somáticas ligadas a la activación emocional. La alexitimia es conceptualizada tanto como un trastorno en la regulación afectiva, como una variable de personalidad. El principal objetivo de este trabajo es investigar la estabilidad temporal de los niveles de alexitimia en relación a los cambios experimentados en el malestar emocional causado por los exámenes universitarios. Evaluamos 20 universitarios en cuatro ocasiones diferentes, antes y después de los exámenes. Se evaluaron los niveles de alexitimia y de malestar emocional (ansiedad y sintomatología somática). Los resultados mostraron que mientras que las medidas de malestar emocional cambiaron significativamente durante las diversas fases, el grado de alexitimia permaneció inalterable. Se concluye afirmando que la alexitimia constituye un rasgo estable de personalidad.

Keywords

emotionalexithymiastressanxietyemociónalexitimiaestrésansiedad
Type
Articles
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , May 2003 , pp. 51 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2003

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