Using the Body When There Are No Words for Feelings: Alexithymia and Somatization in Self-Harming Adolescents
The present case-control study aimed to investigate the relationship between alexithymia and somatic complaints in the psychopathological setting of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). A clinical sample of 134 adolescents (115 females; 85.5%) from 12 to 18 years old engaging in NSSI was compared with a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00262/full |
| _version_ | 1818414684925067264 |
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| author | Alessia Raffagnato Caterina Angelico Perla Valentini Marina Miscioscia Marina Miscioscia Michela Gatta |
| author_facet | Alessia Raffagnato Caterina Angelico Perla Valentini Marina Miscioscia Marina Miscioscia Michela Gatta |
| author_sort | Alessia Raffagnato |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The present case-control study aimed to investigate the relationship between alexithymia and somatic complaints in the psychopathological setting of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). A clinical sample of 134 adolescents (115 females; 85.5%) from 12 to 18 years old engaging in NSSI was compared with a control group of 243 high-school students (157 females; 64.6%) from 13 to 18 years old. Data were collected using two questionnaires: The Youth Self-Report 11–18 and the 20 Toronto Alexithymia Scale. In both cases and controls, the presence of somatization and alexithymia was associated with more severe psychopathological problems. Analyses were conducted to explore the association between somatic disorders and alexithymia. In the clinical group, somatic complaints were reported by 95.9% of alexithymic individuals, whereas only 44.3% of alexithymic adolescents reported somatic complaints. A one-way relationship emerged between somatization and alexithymia: while alexithymia would seem to be a factor associated with self-injury, somatic disorders were strongly associated with alexithymia, but not necessarily with self-injury. Among the self-harming adolescents, those with both alexithymia and somatization had a more severe psychopathological picture than the individuals with alexithymia but no somatization. This would suggest that, in the setting of NSSI, greater difficulty with identifying feelings is associated with somatization, and alexithymia would be an attribute common to self-harming behavior and somatization, both of which are characterized by the body being used to express psychological and emotional problems. Future research could further investigate alexithymia in self-harming individuals, in relation to any presence or absence of somatic disorders, with longitudinal assessments on any differences in their manifestation of self-injury and its psychopathological correlates. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T11:23:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-544212708c16415d8602042e32f75105 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T11:23:01Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-544212708c16415d8602042e32f751052022-12-21T23:03:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402020-04-011110.3389/fpsyt.2020.00262516999Using the Body When There Are No Words for Feelings: Alexithymia and Somatization in Self-Harming AdolescentsAlessia Raffagnato0Caterina Angelico1Perla Valentini2Marina Miscioscia3Marina Miscioscia4Michela Gatta5Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Padua University Hospital, Padua, ItalyChild and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Padua University Hospital, Padua, ItalyDepartment of Communication Sciences, Humanistic and International Studies: History, Culture, Languages, Literature, Arts, Media, University of Urbino ‘Carlo Bo’, Urbino, ItalyChild and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Padua University Hospital, Padua, ItalyDepartment of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padua, Padua, ItalyChild and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Padua University Hospital, Padua, ItalyThe present case-control study aimed to investigate the relationship between alexithymia and somatic complaints in the psychopathological setting of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). A clinical sample of 134 adolescents (115 females; 85.5%) from 12 to 18 years old engaging in NSSI was compared with a control group of 243 high-school students (157 females; 64.6%) from 13 to 18 years old. Data were collected using two questionnaires: The Youth Self-Report 11–18 and the 20 Toronto Alexithymia Scale. In both cases and controls, the presence of somatization and alexithymia was associated with more severe psychopathological problems. Analyses were conducted to explore the association between somatic disorders and alexithymia. In the clinical group, somatic complaints were reported by 95.9% of alexithymic individuals, whereas only 44.3% of alexithymic adolescents reported somatic complaints. A one-way relationship emerged between somatization and alexithymia: while alexithymia would seem to be a factor associated with self-injury, somatic disorders were strongly associated with alexithymia, but not necessarily with self-injury. Among the self-harming adolescents, those with both alexithymia and somatization had a more severe psychopathological picture than the individuals with alexithymia but no somatization. This would suggest that, in the setting of NSSI, greater difficulty with identifying feelings is associated with somatization, and alexithymia would be an attribute common to self-harming behavior and somatization, both of which are characterized by the body being used to express psychological and emotional problems. Future research could further investigate alexithymia in self-harming individuals, in relation to any presence or absence of somatic disorders, with longitudinal assessments on any differences in their manifestation of self-injury and its psychopathological correlates.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00262/fullsomatic complaintssomatizationnon-suicidal self-injuryalexithymiaadolescencedevelopmental psychopathology |
| spellingShingle | Alessia Raffagnato Caterina Angelico Perla Valentini Marina Miscioscia Marina Miscioscia Michela Gatta Using the Body When There Are No Words for Feelings: Alexithymia and Somatization in Self-Harming Adolescents Frontiers in Psychiatry somatic complaints somatization non-suicidal self-injury alexithymia adolescence developmental psychopathology |
| title | Using the Body When There Are No Words for Feelings: Alexithymia and Somatization in Self-Harming Adolescents |
| title_full | Using the Body When There Are No Words for Feelings: Alexithymia and Somatization in Self-Harming Adolescents |
| title_fullStr | Using the Body When There Are No Words for Feelings: Alexithymia and Somatization in Self-Harming Adolescents |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using the Body When There Are No Words for Feelings: Alexithymia and Somatization in Self-Harming Adolescents |
| title_short | Using the Body When There Are No Words for Feelings: Alexithymia and Somatization in Self-Harming Adolescents |
| title_sort | using the body when there are no words for feelings alexithymia and somatization in self harming adolescents |
| topic | somatic complaints somatization non-suicidal self-injury alexithymia adolescence developmental psychopathology |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00262/full |
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