The stability of alexithymia during work in a high-stress environment: a prospective study of Swedish peacekeepers serving in Kosovo.
We applied a prospective design to reinvestigate the issue whether the sub-domains of alexithymia could be considered stable traits or distress-related states. Assessments of alexithymia and subjective distress were conducted before deployment to Kosovo in a sample of male peacekeepers. A second assessment was conducted approximately six months later during the final phase of service. The results showed evidence of moderate to high relative stability in all alexithymic sub-domains. It was also found that a relative change in subjective distress predicted a relative change in difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings but not in externally oriented thinking. We suggest therefore that the alexithymic sub-domains could be considered relatively stable traits but that the level of difficulty identifying and describing feeling varies with the level of subjective distress.
Larsson
Magnus R
MR
Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Magnus_R.Larsson@psychology.lu.se
Bäckström
Martin
M
Michel
Per-Olof
PO
Lundh
Lars-Gunnar
LG
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000339:Affect; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012931:Social Environment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D013548:Sweden; D015022:Yugoslavia