Alexithymia in DSM-IV disorder: comparative evaluation of somatoform disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression.
The purpose of this study was a direct comparative evaluation of alexithymia in patients with somatoform disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression, taking into account the multidimensionality of the alexithymia construct. The authors administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to a sample of 234 subjects. Panic disorder, but no other diagnosis, was significantly related to lower TAS-20 total scores (P=0.000). Regarding TAS-20 subfactors, Factor 1 was significantly associated with somatoform disorder (P=0.006) and depression (P=0.002), Factor 2 was significantly associated with depression (P=0.025), and Factor 3 was significantly associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (P=0.001), whereas panic disorder showed a significant negative correlation with Factor 3 (P=0.001). The relationships of the three subfactors with various DSM-IV diagnoses and sociodemographic variables emphasize the multidimensionality of alexithymia.
Bankier
B
B
Department of Psychiatry, University of Vienna, Austria. bettina.bankier@akh-wien.ac.at
Aigner
M
M
Bach
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*