The relationship between alexithymia, depression, and axis II psychopathology in eating disorder inpatients

✍ Scribed by Sexton, Mark C. ;Sunday, Suzanne R. ;Hurt, Stephen ;Halmi, Katherine A.

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 43 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0276-3478
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199804)23:3<277::aid-eat5>3.0.co;2-g

✦ Synopsis

Objective:

The major purpose of this study was to examine alexithymia in relationship to depression and axis ii psychopathology in eating disorder patients.

Method:

Fifty-three female inpatients representing three dsm-iv eating disorder diagnostic groups and 14 control subjects completed the toronto alexithymia scale (tas), the eating disorder inventory-2, and the beck depression inventory within the first week of their hospital admission and shortly before discharge. structured clinical interviews for dsm-iii-r (scid) i and ii were also conducted. multiple regression analyses were used to determine the contribution of mood, diagnostic, and personality variables in predicting the alexithymia score.

Results and discussion:

After controlling for depression, only the tas factor, "difficulty expressing feelings," remained significantly different between groups, with the anorexia nervosa-restrictors (an-r) having significantly higher scores than controls and bulimia nervosa patients. this factor appears to be a relatively stable personality characteristic in an-r. the level of depression and the presence of avoidant personality disorder were the most predictable variables for the alexithymia total score.