Child maltreatment and alexithymia: A meta-analytic review.

Abstract

Alexithymia refers to difficulties identifying and describing one's emotions. Growing evidence suggests that alexithymia is a key transdiagnostic risk factor. Despite its clinical importance, the etiology of alexithymia is largely unknown. The present study employs meta-analytic methods to summarize findings on the role of one hypothesized antecedent of adult alexithymia, namely child maltreatment. We obtained effect size estimates from 99 independent samples reported in 78 unique sources that reported both child maltreatment history and adult levels of alexithymia. These studies involved a total of 36,141 participants. Using correlation coefficients as our effect size index, we found that child maltreatment was positively related to overall adult alexithymia (r = .23 [.19, .27]). Notably, emotional abuse (r = .18 [.13, .23]), emotional neglect (r = .21 [.16, .26]), and physical neglect (r = .18 [.15, .22]) were the strongest predictors. Effects were moderated by gender, affiliation with clinical versus nonclinical samples, and publication status. Overall results were robust to publication bias and the presence of outliers. These findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the complex connection between different types of child maltreatment and alexithymia, providing greater insight into the early environmental influences on alexithymia. Public Significance StatementThis meta-analysis reveals that adult alexithymia, which is defined by difficulties identifying and describing one's emotions, is linked to child maltreatment. These effects are strongest when individuals experience emotional abuse, emotional neglect, or physical neglect as children.

Childhood Trauma, Emotional Awareness, and Neural Correlates of Long-Term Nicotine Smoking

“…Our current work also revealed an association of childhood trauma, mediated through alexithymia, with FI-DMN function in those who smoked nicotine. Specifically, more reported childhood trauma was associated with greater alexithymia, replicating previous work . However, no direct association was evident between the CTQ score and time in any brain state.…”

“…Specifically, more reported childhood trauma was associated with greater alexithymia, replicating previous work. 26 However, no direct association was evident between the CTQ score and time in any brain state. Only through the association of childhood trauma with alexithymia did we find an association with neurobiological changes in individuals who smoked nicotine, indicating that it was the expression of symptoms such as alexithymia and not just trauma that was associated with FI-DMN dynamics.…”

“…Childhood trauma is another related clinical factor to consider, as maltreatment has been shown to neurobiologically differentiate individuals with the same psychiatric diagnosis. 25 There is substantial evidence not only that alexithymia is precipitated by childhood trauma 26 but also that alexithymia mediates the association between childhood trauma and other issues, such as adult psychopathology, 27 self-injurious behavior, 28 and vaping. 29 Thus, it is critical to determine whether alexithymia mediates the association between childhood trauma and temporal dynamics.…”

Alexithymia as a mediator of the associations between child maltreatment and internalizing and externalizing behaviors in adolescence

“…Studies have shown that when compared to individuals without a history of maltreatment, victims of childhood maltreatment report higher levels of alexithymia 20 . Based on Ditzer et al’s meta-analysis 21 , children growing up in abusive environments such as those characterized by maltreatment do not properly learn to regulate their emotions or tolerate negative affects. They also lack modeling and reinforcement of appropriate coping strategies and emotional expressivity 20 , 22 .…”

Mental Imagery in the Relationship between Alexithymia and Parental Psychological Control

“…According to the self-determination theory [ 24 ], parental psychological control has been linked to the development of alexithymia, often exacerbated by elevated instances of child maltreatment [ 25 ] and parental overprotection [ 26 ], and anxious attachment [ 20 , 27 ], as well as a reduction in psychological needs and the disruption of self-regulation [ 28 ]. Moreover, parents with alexithymic traits were found to show more parental psychological control, and may encounter challenges in comprehending their children’s emotional experiences [ 14 ].…”