Somatization Mediates the Structural Relationship of Alexithymia with Anxiety and Depression
Objective: The study of factors affecting anxiety and depression as the most common emotional disorders has always been at the forefront of psychological research. Among different factors, alexithymia and somatization have considerable importance due to their emotional nature with makes them more i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Tehran University of Medical Sciences
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Iranian Journal of Psychiatry |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/view/2385 |
| _version_ | 1819022441170599936 |
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| author | Nima Farhoumandi Mostafa Zarean Mohammad Nasiri Muhsin Jega |
| author_facet | Nima Farhoumandi Mostafa Zarean Mohammad Nasiri Muhsin Jega |
| author_sort | Nima Farhoumandi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Objective: The study of factors affecting anxiety and depression as the most common emotional disorders has always been at the forefront of psychological research. Among different factors, alexithymia and somatization have considerable importance due to their emotional nature with makes them more integrated with anxiety and depression. Several studies have demonstrated a link between these four concepts, but as far as we know, the quality of the relationship has not been addressed yet. The present paper aims to investigate the mediating role of somatization in the structural relationship of alexithymia with anxiety and depression.
Method: A total of 334 college students were recruited through cluster sampling and were asked to complete the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), Beck Depression Inventory – Second Edition (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Somatization Subscale from the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using correlational as well as structural equation modeling.
Results: Based on the correlation analysis, there was significant relationship between alexithymia, somatization, anxiety, and depression. According to the results of regression weights, there is a moderate relationship between alexithymia and somatization (regression weight = 0.44). The relationship between somatization and depression is at moderate level (regression weight = 0.42) and the relationship of somatization with anxiety is at strong level (regression weight = 0.85). the goodness of fit indices for the hypothetical model showed significant coefficients at P < 0.05 (CFI = 0.98, RMSEA = 0.059).
Conclusion: Findings indicated the important and influential role of somatization in explaining the relationship of alexithymia with anxiety and depression. Therefore, it seems that emotional components such as difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions as well as regulating mood states are important in the psychopathology of emotional disorders.
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| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:23:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5e25bdcf5ee14bfdac57e64c68c35739 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1735-4587 2008-2215 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T04:23:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Tehran University of Medical Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Iranian Journal of Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-5e25bdcf5ee14bfdac57e64c68c357392022-12-21T19:16:07ZengTehran University of Medical SciencesIranian Journal of Psychiatry1735-45872008-22152022-03-0117210.18502/ijps.v17i2.8904Somatization Mediates the Structural Relationship of Alexithymia with Anxiety and DepressionNima Farhoumandi0Mostafa Zarean1Mohammad Nasiri2Muhsin Jega3Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Tabriz, Iran.Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Tabriz, Iran.Faculty of Education and Psychology, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Tabriz, Iran. Objective: The study of factors affecting anxiety and depression as the most common emotional disorders has always been at the forefront of psychological research. Among different factors, alexithymia and somatization have considerable importance due to their emotional nature with makes them more integrated with anxiety and depression. Several studies have demonstrated a link between these four concepts, but as far as we know, the quality of the relationship has not been addressed yet. The present paper aims to investigate the mediating role of somatization in the structural relationship of alexithymia with anxiety and depression. Method: A total of 334 college students were recruited through cluster sampling and were asked to complete the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), Beck Depression Inventory – Second Edition (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Somatization Subscale from the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using correlational as well as structural equation modeling. Results: Based on the correlation analysis, there was significant relationship between alexithymia, somatization, anxiety, and depression. According to the results of regression weights, there is a moderate relationship between alexithymia and somatization (regression weight = 0.44). The relationship between somatization and depression is at moderate level (regression weight = 0.42) and the relationship of somatization with anxiety is at strong level (regression weight = 0.85). the goodness of fit indices for the hypothetical model showed significant coefficients at P < 0.05 (CFI = 0.98, RMSEA = 0.059). Conclusion: Findings indicated the important and influential role of somatization in explaining the relationship of alexithymia with anxiety and depression. Therefore, it seems that emotional components such as difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions as well as regulating mood states are important in the psychopathology of emotional disorders. https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/view/2385AnxietyAlexithymiaDepressionSomatization |
| spellingShingle | Nima Farhoumandi Mostafa Zarean Mohammad Nasiri Muhsin Jega Somatization Mediates the Structural Relationship of Alexithymia with Anxiety and Depression Iranian Journal of Psychiatry Anxiety Alexithymia Depression Somatization |
| title | Somatization Mediates the Structural Relationship of Alexithymia with Anxiety and Depression |
| title_full | Somatization Mediates the Structural Relationship of Alexithymia with Anxiety and Depression |
| title_fullStr | Somatization Mediates the Structural Relationship of Alexithymia with Anxiety and Depression |
| title_full_unstemmed | Somatization Mediates the Structural Relationship of Alexithymia with Anxiety and Depression |
| title_short | Somatization Mediates the Structural Relationship of Alexithymia with Anxiety and Depression |
| title_sort | somatization mediates the structural relationship of alexithymia with anxiety and depression |
| topic | Anxiety Alexithymia Depression Somatization |
| url | https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/view/2385 |
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