Objectives: To analyze the association between alexithymia and alcohol intake during adolescence, also in relation to psychopathology, in order to identify psychological risk factors for alcohol misuse. Method: 3556 students [mean age (range) 14.5 years (11 -18)] were recruited in the Padua area. Each was administered a set of three questionnaires: the Toronto Alexithymia Scale for children (TAS-20) to measure alexithymia, the Questionnaire Adolescent Saturday evening (QAS) to estimate of alcohol intake, and the Youth Self-Report (YSR 11 -18) to value psychopathology. Results: Externalizing problems appeared to increase with age and with the amount of alcohol consumed, unlike internalizing problems. The prevalence of alexithymia was 18%, decreasing with age, and it was not associated with alcohol consumption, and used except in younger subjects (≤13), for whom a positive correlation was observed between alexithymia, internalizing problems and alcohol intake. Conclusions: Younger adolescents are more psycho-emotionally vulnerable (internalizing problems and alexithymia) and at a greater risk of alcohol misuse.

Amidst the research on the psycho-behavioral factors correlating with alcohol abuse, numerous studies have identified psychopathological disorders and alexithymic traits in adult alcohol abusers, but this relationship has yet to be studied in adolescents. To a sample of 1,466 students (mean age of 13.5 years) were administered three questionnaires to assess their alcohol consumption, any alexithymic traits, and any psycho-behavioral problems. There was an association between alcohol consumption and psycho-behavioral problems in the sample as a whole, but a statistically significant relationship between alcohol consumption and alexithymia only in the subsample of students attending middle school (sixth to eighth graders). Among these younger adolescents (11 to 13years old), those with a higher score for alexithymia and psycho-behavioral problems had a significantly greater alcohol consumption than their peers without these psychological traits. Alexithymic traits, especially when associated with psycho-behavioral problems, constitute a risk factor for alcohol consumption in preadolescence

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