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Alexithymia, Coping Styles and Traumatic Stress Symptoms in a Sample of Veterans Who Experienced Military Sexual Trauma
Author(s) -
Gaher Raluca M.,
O'Brien Carol,
Smiley Paul,
Hahn Austin M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
stress and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1532-2998
pISSN - 1532-3005
DOI - 10.1002/smi.2578
Subject(s) - alexithymia , denial , psychology , reinterpretation , coping (psychology) , clinical psychology , social support , military service , psychiatry , psychotherapist , physics , archaeology , acoustics , history
The current study examined the association between alexithymia and coping styles (planning, positive reinterpretation and growth, social‐emotion coping, and denial), and trauma symptoms in a clinical sample of 170 male and female veterans who experienced sexual trauma during military service. Denial was the only coping style positively associated with trauma symptoms, and it mediated the relationship between alexithymia and trauma symptoms. Alexithymia was negatively associated with planning. Likewise, alexithymia was negatively associated with social‐emotional coping and with positive reinterpretation and growth. The results speak to the significant role that alexithymia has in predicting individual coping styles. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.