Alexithymia and emotional awareness in females with Painful Rheumatic Conditions

Abstract

Objective: Research about the deficit of emotional regulation in Painful Rheumatic Conditions (PRC) indicates that these patients have alexithymic characteristics, as revealed by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). However, the use of a unique measure to assess alexithymic trends has been questioned. The aim of the present study is twofold: to compare the levels of alexithymia and emotional awareness in females with and without PRC; and to test the predictive validity of alexithymia measures beyond negative emotions.

Method: Thirty-nine women with PRC of diverse etiology and twenty-two healthy females responded to the TAS-20, the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) and questionnaires of anxiety and depression.

Results: The total score, factor 1 (difficulty identifying feelings) and factor 2 (difficulty describing feelings) scores of TAS-20 were significantly higher among women with PRC than controls. Females with PRC had lower scores in the subscale "self" of the LEAS (capacity to describe their own emotional experience) than the control group. Only the LEAS significantly predicted the status group after adjusting for anxiety and depression.

Conclusion: Our results highlighted the impairment of emotion processing in patients with PRC and the importance of using a multimodal assessment of emotional regulation in future research.