title: Ego defensive styles and alexithymia: a discriminant validation study.
abstract: Fifty-six mildly depressed psychiatric outpatients were evaluated for alexithymia measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Each subject also completed a Defensive Style Questionnaire that assessed the maturity of their ego defenses. Alexithymia was strongly associated with immature ego defenses, but not with depression. The data suggests that alexithymia and such primitive defensive operations are separate phenomena. These findings empirically support earlier observations regarding the nature of alexithymia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, Va.
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Wise
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Mann
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Epstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004532:Ego; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012059:Rejection, Psychology; D012934:Social Isolation; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology