Influencing factors of alexithymia in Chinese medical students: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundA much higher prevalence of alexithymia has been reported in medical students compared with the general population, and alexithymia is a risk factor that increases vulnerability to mental disorders. Our aim was to evaluate the level of alexithymia in Chinese medical students and to explore its influencing factors.MethodsA cross-sectional study of 1,950 medical students at Shenyang Medical College was conducted in May 2014 to evaluate alexithymia in medical students using the Chinese version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by Cronbach’s α coefficient and mean inter-item correlations. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate construct validity. The relationships between alexithymia and influencing factors were examined using Student’s t-test, analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0.ResultsOf the 1,950 medical students, 1,886 (96.7%) completed questionnaires. Overall, Cronbach’s α coefficient of the TAS-20 questionnaire was 0.868. The results of CFA showed that the original three-factor structure produced an acceptable fit to the data. By univariate analysis, gender, grade (academic year of study), smoking behavior, alcohol use, physical activity, history of living with parents during childhood, and childhood trauma were influencing factors of TAS-20 scores (p < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that gender, physical activity, grade, living with parents, and childhood trauma also had statistically significant association with total TAS-20 score (p < 0.05).ConclusionsGender, physical activity, grade, history of living with parents during childhood, and childhood trauma were all factors determining the level of alexithymia. To prevent alexithymia, it will be advisable to promote adequate physical activity and pay greater attention to male medical students and those who are in the final year of training.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-017-0901-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The Influence of Event Valence and Emotional States on the Metaphorical Comprehension of Time

“…For example, we could use the BIS/BAS Scales to run separate analyses according to participants' BAS and BIS sensitivity (Carver and White, 1994). Also, we should use standardized tests to measure participant's emotions to exclude the influence of alexithymia (people who have trouble identifying and describing emotions and who tend to minimize emotional experience and focus attention externally) by using TAS-20 (Yi et al, 2003).…”

Relationship of premenstrual and menstrual symptoms to alexithymia among nursing students

“…in UK, 47 24.6% in Jordan, 23 15.7% in China, 48 28.7% in Japan, 29 16.9% in Australia. HYPERLINK ∖l "bib49" 49 The important finding of this study is that there is a positive relationship between premenstrual and menstrual symptoms and alexithymia levels among the students in the study.…”

“…In studies conducted with university students in different countries, various alexithymia rates have been reported. For example, in a study of alexithymia, prevalence in the USA was 5.6%, 10 % in Canada, 10% in Italy, 17.92% in UK, 24.6% in Jordan, 15.7% in China, 28.7% in Japan, 16.9% in Australia. HYPERLINK \l “bib49” 49…”

Psychological Capital Mediating the Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Alexithymia in Chinese Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…According to previous research, the prevalence of alexithymia among Chinese medical students was 15.7%. 13 So π=15.7%. Considering that 10% of the responses would be invalid, the minimum sample size in this study was n=[1.962×15.7%(1–15.7%)]/(0.15×15.7%)2≈917; however, we chose to expand the sample size to n=917×(1+10%)=1009.…”