The Role of Alexithymia in Social Withdrawal during Adolescence: A Case–Control Study

Abstract

Although social withdrawal is becoming increasingly common among adolescents, there is still no consensus on its definition from the diagnostic and psychopathological standpoints. So far, research has focused mainly on social withdrawal as a symptom of specific diagnostic categories, such as depression, social phobia, or anxiety disorders, or in the setting of dependence or personality disorders. Few studies have dealt with social withdrawal in terms of its syndromic significance, also considering aspects of emotion control, such as alexithymia. The present case-control study aimed to further investigate the issue of social withdrawal, and try to clarify the part played by alexithymia in a sample of Italian adolescents diagnosed with psychological disorders (n = 80; Average Ageg = 15.2 years, SD = 1.49). Our patients with social withdrawal (cases) scored significantly higher than those without this type of behavior (controls) in every domain of alexithymia investigated, using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and with the scales in the Youth Self-Report (YSR) regarding internalizing problems, anxiety–depression, social problems, and total problems. Internalizing problems and total levels of alexithymia also emerged as predictors of social withdrawal. These variables may therefore precede and predispose adolescents to social withdrawal, while social problems may develop as a consequence of the latter.

The effect of Adlerian play therapy on the alexithymia and social isolation of deaf students.

“…Alexithymia affects the expression of emotions, communication, and social skills of individuals (Gaggero et al, 2020). Individuals with alexithymia may have difficulty participating in social situations and maintaining relationships with others (Iannattone et al, 2021). Social isolation is associated with a lack of social connections and social relationships (Kobayashi & Steptoe, 2018).…”

“…It is not a secondary condition in response to stressful situations, but an individual characteristic that often underlies the onset of a psychological disorder (Gatta et al, 2017). Lack of sufficient capacity to control emotions in childhood prevents a person from properly dealing with difficult situations and causes negative emotions and social isolation (Iannattone et al, 2021). Alexithymia has been associated with social problems, self-harming, social withdrawal, internalizing disorders, and social isolation (Frankova, 2019).…”

A Pre-Adolescent and Adolescent Clinical Sample Study about Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempt, and Self-Harming

“…To be more specific, alexithymia is characterized by the inability to identify and communicate emotions with appropriate words and was found to be a risk factor for several problems in adolescent age, such as risk behaviors (e.g., [ 65 ]), social withdrawal (e.g., [ 68 ]) somatization (e.g., [ 66 , 67 ]), and suicidal behavior (e.g., [ 63 ]). On the basis of the aforementioned results, we assume that general difficulties in emotion regulation and, in particular, in identifying and communicating feelings may be involved in NSSI, thus differentiating adolescents with mere suicidal ideation from those with suicidal ideation/attempt together with NSSI.…”

“…NSSI, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempt share several risk factors, psychiatric comorbidity, and high prevalence in young people. At a symptomatological and psychopathological level, the main risk factors associated with suicidal and nonsuicidal self-harm are impulsiveness [ 32 , 33 , 58 , 59 ], alexithymia [ 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ]—considered a transdiagnostic risk factor [ 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 ]—somatic problems [ 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ], emotion dysregulation [ 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 ], affective disorders [ 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ], borderline functioning and borderline personality disorder [ 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 ]. However, it seems still unclear what differences exist in the psycho-behavioral profiles of patients with both suicidal ideation/attempt and NSSI.…”

Music and facial emotion recognition and its relationship with alexithymia

“…The presence of alexithymia can hinder the development of social skills during adolescence (Honkalampi et al, 2009; Iannattone et al, 2021); therefore, if the approach of any educational system is to train individuals comprehensively and prepare them for society, activities need to be promoted through educational proposals that are related to the study of the emotional and affective needs of adolescent students. Furthermore, this type of study introduces other professionals of education and music therapy-related settings to the manner in which music can help in the cognitive and emotional development during this evolutionary stage.…”