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. 2011 Feb;12(1):71-80.
doi: 10.1007/s10194-010-0248-6. Epub 2010 Aug 22.

Alexithymia in juvenile primary headache sufferers: a pilot study

Michela Gatta  1 , Elisabetta Canetta, Maria Zordan, Andrea Spoto, Emilia Ferruzza, Irene Manco, Alessandra Addis, Lara Dal Zotto, Irene Toldo, Stefano Sartori, Pier Antonio Battistella
Affiliations

Alexithymia in juvenile primary headache sufferers: a pilot study

Michela Gatta et al. J Headache Pain. 2011 Feb.

Abstract

Starting in the 1990s, there has been accumulating evidence of alexithymic characteristics in adult patients with primary headache. Little research has been conducted, however, on the relationship between alexithymia and primary headache in developmental age. In their research on alexithymia in the formative years, the authors identified one of the most promising prospects for research, as discussed here. The aim of this study was to verify whether there is: (a) a link between tension-type headache and alexithymia in childhood and early adolescence; and (b) a correlation between alexithymia in children/preadolescents and their mothers. This study was based on an experimental group of 32 patients (26 females and 6 males, aged from 8 to 15 years, mean 11.2 ± 2.0) suffering from tension-type headache and 32 control subjects (26 females and 6 males, aged from 8 to 15 years, mean 11.8 ± 1.6). Tension-type headache was diagnosed by applying the International Headache Classification (ICHD-II, 2004). The alexithymic construct was measured using an Italian version of the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children in the case of the juvenile patients and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) for their mothers. Higher rates of alexithymia were observed in the children/preadolescents in the experimental group (EG) than in the control group; in the EG there was no significant correlation between the alexithymia rates in the children/preadolescents and in their mothers.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Point values for factor F3 for the four groups considered
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Total level of alexithymia for the four groups considered
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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