Social Situation of Expectant Mothers and Alexithymia 31 Years Later in Their Offspring: A Prospective Study

Joukamaa, Matti; Kokkonen, Pirkko; Veijola, Juha; Läksy, Kristian; Karvonen, Juha T.; Jokelainen, Jari; Järvelin, Marjo‐Riitta

doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000030389.53353.bc

Cited by 37 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…Possibly the differences in upbringing, social environment, and other early experiences were the etiological reasons for differences in the prevalence of alexithymia between the older and the younger populations in our sample. It has been shown that alexithymia is related to early trauma [34 -36], nonoptimal parenting styles [35,37], insecure childhood attachment relationships [38], and, in a Finnish study, rural upbringing [39]. On the other hand, studies on cognitive and neurobiological-emotional processing indicate age-related alterations [40 -42].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Age is strongly associated with alexithymia in the general population

Mattila

Salminen²,

Nummi

et al. 2006

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

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287

173

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Age is strongly associated with alexithymia in the general population

Mattila

Salminen²,

Nummi

et al. 2006

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Self Cite

287

173

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“…Stressful conditions in childhood of the OCD patients may have resulted in alexithymic traits in adulthood, a mechanism suggested by Joukamaa et al [40]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alexithymia in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – Results from a Family Study

Grabe¹,

Ruhrmann

Ettelt³

et al. 2006

Psychother Psychosom

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Background: Previous studies have suggested an association between alexithymia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, it is unclear to which extent alexithymic traits in OCD patients reflect familial deficits in cognitively processing and communicating feelings that are also present in their first-degree relatives. This study investigates the hypotheses of an elevated level of alexithymia in subjects with OCD and their first-degree relatives compared to controls and their first-degree relatives. Methods: 82 cases with OCD and 169 first-degree relatives were compared to 76 controls and 144 first-degree relatives from a German family study on OCD (GENOS). All subjects completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Direct or family informant interviews were carried out with the German version of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia – lifetime version for anxiety disorders (DSM-IV). Results: OCD was associated with significantly higher scores of alexithymia. However, first-degree relatives of OCD cases and of controls did not differ in TAS-20 scores. In linear regression analyses, the TAS-20 total score showed significant intrafamilial associations within the families of control subjects but not within families of OCD cases. Conclusion: OCD is a severe mental disorder that is associated independently from other current comorbid axis I disorders with deficits in identifying and expressing feelings. However, alexithymia does not represent a familial risk factor for OCD.

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“…As part of this study, the TAS-20 was administered to almost 6,000 individuals at a 31-year follow-up. The study found that alexithymia in adulthood was associated with being an unwanted child, being born into a family with many children, and particularly strongly with a rural upbringing [42]. In addition, alexithymia was associated with the ability to speak words at one-year of age, the mean TAS-20 score of the adults being lowest among early speakers [43].…”

Section: Contributions From Developmental Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Trends in Alexithymia Research

Taylor

Bagby

2004

Psychother Psychosom

528

400

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Research investigating the alexithymia construct is advancing rapidly and has broadened considerably in recent years as a result of interdisciplinary efforts, new methodologies, and experimental techniques. New developments in the field include a shift from measurement-based validational studies to experimental investigations, which explore the relation between alexithymia and various aspects of emotional processing; the use of functional brain imaging techniques to explore neural activity associated with alexithymia; and experimental studies that measure multiple indices of physiological response to standardized emotion-inducing stimuli. Developmental research and attachment studies are providing ways for investigating potential etiological sources of the construct; and experimental approaches are being used to explore relations between alexithymia and other health-related personality constructs. In addition, longitudinal and treatment studies are clarifying the relation between alexithymia and psychopathology and the extent to which alexithymia predicts treatment outcome. Investigators need to embrace the new methods and techniques for the field of research to further increase understanding of the alexithymia construct and its association with physical and mental illness.

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Social Situation of Expectant Mothers and Alexithymia 31 Years Later in Their Offspring: A Prospective Study

Abstract: Maternal social situation and environment predict alexithymia in the offspring.

Cited by 37 publications

References 30 publications

Age is strongly associated with alexithymia in the general population

Age is strongly associated with alexithymia in the general population

Alexithymia in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – Results from a Family Study

New Trends in Alexithymia Research

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