The Relationship between Dissociative Proneness and Alexithymia

Abstract

Background: Dissociative reactions and alexithymia are two strategies that have been put forward as coping mechanisms to alleviate painful emotions. It is the clinical impression that dissociation is related to certain alexithymia features. In line with the coping hypothesis, it was predicted that the relationship between dissociative tendencies and alexithymia would be partly mediated by current levels of stress and/or by past traumatic experiences. Furthermore, dissociation may also be related to enhanced fantasizing, although alexithymia has traditionally been associated with an incapacity to fantasize. Methods: Data were obtained from 833 nonclinical participants on dissociative tendencies, alexithymia, childhood abuse, current stress and socially desirable behavior. Correlation analyses followed by multiple regression were performed. Results: Dissociative tendencies appeared to be especially related to one alexithymic feature: a difficulty in identifying feelings. This relationship was partially mediated by levels of current stress. A history of trauma did not predict dissociation measures. Furthermore, highly dissociative participants were more fantasy prone than low-dissociative participants. Conclusions: The results of this study support the idea that in a nonclinical group dissociation may provide a way to cope with current stressful events, and that this is associated with a difficulty in identifying feelings. It is argued that two types of dissociation may exist, one trait-like type of dissociation that is associated with fantasy proneness and other related factors, and a trauma-related type of dissociation that is more apparent within the clinical range.

Alexithymia, Interhemispheric Transfer, and Right Hemispheric Specialization: A Critical Review

“…Furthermore, since a core deficit of alexithymia is a difficulty in labeling one’s emotions, future studies may include tasks involving verbal labeling of emotion and utilize stimuli that actually evoke emotions, such as the graphic photographs in the International Affective Picture System [58]. Finally, the relation between alexithymia on the one hand and social support and stress on the other should also be examined [59, 60, 61], given the purportedly unique involvement of the RH in affiliation and stress [11, 12]. Thus, in order to fully address the clinical realities of alexithymia in experimental settings, several different types of studies, each addressing a different aspect of the construct, should be conducted.…”

Alexithymia in Young Adulthood: A Risk Factor for Pathological Gambling

“…Since previous research [27, 28]has reported that alexithymia levels may be influenced by various types of negative mood states (and general mood scores were available for 404 participants), a one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the three alexithymia groups on general mood. The three alexithymia groups were found to differ on general mood [F(2, 401) = 15.18, p < 0.001].…”

The overlap between dissociative symptoms and symptom over-reporting

“…Careless responding, random responding, fatigue, and lack of effort are all known to operate in student samples and contribute to inflated symptom scores 10,25,26 . A clinically more interesting route to over-reporting is suggested by studies that found dissociation to be related to trait-like phenomena such as negative affectivity, alexithymia, and poor symptom perception 27,28 . Specifically, there might exist a subgroup of dissociative people whose primary problem is their difficulty in identifying somatic experiences.…”