Alexithymia and PTSD symptoms in urban police officers: Cross‐sectional and prospective findings *

The relationship of alexithymia to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology was examined cross‐sectionally in 166 urban police officers surveyed between 1998 and 1999 and prospectively in 54 of these officers who participated in a follow‐up survey after the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks. In cross‐sectional analyses, alexithymia scores were positively associated with PTSD symptom levels and self‐reported childhood emotional abuse‐‐neglect, but not with cumulative level of critical incident exposure. Alexithymia scores accounted for 11.2% of the variance in PTSD symptoms prior to accounting for additional predictors, but did not retain significance in the final model. In prospective analyses, alexithymia scores significantly predicted 9/11‐related PTSD symptom severity over and above pre‐9/11 PTSD symptoms.