Predicting individual differences in autonomy‐connectedness: the role of body awareness, alexithymia, and assertiveness

Abstract

Autonomy-connectedness is the capacity for being on one's own as well as for satisfactorily engaging in interpersonal relationships. Associations have been shown between autonomy-connectedness components (self-awareness, sensitivity to others, and the capacity for managing new situations) and various indices of psychopathology. Both in a theoretical sense as well as for enhancing treatment and prevention, it is relevant to identify which factors most powerfully predict individual differences in autonomy-connectedness: body awareness, alexithymia, or assertiveness. The present study examined this question in a clinical sample of women who were diagnosed as having autonomy problems (N=52) and in a female nonclinical community sample (N=59). In line with expectations, assertiveness was a strong predictor of (all three components of) autonomy-connectedness, as was emotionalizing, one of the alexithymia-components, but the latter in an opposite direction than we had expected: the higher an individual's ability to emotionalize was, the less self-aware and capable to manage new situations that person was, and the more sensitive to others. Cognitive alexithymia contributed to self-awareness as well as to the capacity for managing new situations, and one of the components of body awareness appeared to predict capacity for managing new situations. Our results indicate that assertiveness training and the enhancement of emotion regulation are important elements of autonomy-connectedness targeted interventions.

Children’s Alexithymia Measure (CAM): A New Instrument for Screening Difficulties with Emotional Expression

“…The previous vignette reveals an example of a child who appears to have difficulties effectively communicating his feelings regarding his parents' divorce and other troubling events in his life. Jaime may be experiencing a condition called alexithymia, a term first coined by Sifneos (1973) to describe a person's inability to recognize and express feelings (Bekker, Croon, van Balkom, & Vermee, 2008). Research has linked alexithymia to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, panic disorders, and eating disorders (Vanheule, 2008).…”

Adult attachment and emotional awareness impairment: a multimethod assessment

“…This is in line with our results highlighting the relation between the Anxious attachment style and a higher level of emotional awareness. Moreover, anxiously attached individuals are particularly sensitive to others and there is evidence to suggest that the more sensitive one is to others, the more one is aroused by emotion-inducing events (Bekker, Croon, van Balkom, & Vermee, 2008). Furthermore, research focusing on empathy (the ability to identify and express one’s own emotions and those of others is regarded as a component of empathy) has similarly demonstrated that anxious people experience a higher level of emotional empathy than secure or dismissing individuals (Sonnby-Borgstrom & Jonsson, 2004; Trusty & Ng, 2005).…”

Body Awareness: Construct and Self-Report Measures

“…Although a clear definition is rarely provided [1], [2], body awareness involves an attentional focus on and awareness of internal body sensations. The term has traditionally been used in studies of anxiety and panic disorders to describe a cognitive attitude characterized by an exaggerated patient focus on physical symptoms, magnification (“somatosensory amplification”), rumination, and beliefs of catastrophic out-comes [3].…”