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Alexithymia and childhood family environment
Author(s) -
Kench Susan,
Irwin Harvey J.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(200006)56:6<737::aid-jclp4>3.0.co;2-u
Subject(s) - alexithymia , psychology , disengagement theory , family environment scale , toronto alexithymia scale , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , gerontology , medicine
Little research has been conducted on the contribution of environmental factors to the development of alexithymic tendencies. Ninety‐two university students were surveyed to determine if features of the childhood family environment could predict the level of alexithymic tendencies. The 20‐item Toronto Alexithymia Scale was used to measure alexithymic tendencies. Also surveyed retrospectively were dimensions of the childhood family environment such as the family's level of cohesion, expressiveness, conflict, disengagement, sociability, enmeshment, organization, and parenting style. Multiple‐regression analysis showed that the set of family‐environment variables did predict alexithymia scores. The sole family variable independently predictive of global alexithymic tendencies was expressiveness, although other family variables were predictive of individual components of alexithymia. The findings are consistent with the view that the childhood family environment has a bearing on the development of alexithymic tendencies, although other explanations by no means are excluded. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 56: 737–745, 2000.