title: Alexithymia and posttraumatic stress: subscales and symptom clusters.
abstract: This study examined the relationship between the emotion-regulating factor alexithymia and the occurrence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after critical incidents in a nonclinical sample of 136 nurses and ambulance personnel working in military facilities. The results showed that alexythima accounts for variance in PTSD symptoms. Breaking PTSD into its 4 symptom clusters, alexithymia was found to predict numbing and hyperarousal symptoms but not avoidance or reexperiencing symptoms. Finally, the rarely investigated, but clinically relevant, distinctive subdimensions of alexithymia were examined in relation to the 4 PTSD clusters. The difficulty identifying feelings subscale contributed most to the numbing and hyperarousal PTSD subscales. Clinical implications and future research directions are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department ofPsychoanalysis and Clinical Consulting, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, GhentUniversity, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. frederic.declercq@ugent.be
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Declercq
authors.forename: Stijn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vanheule
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Deheegher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult