title: Is alexithymia linked with marital satisfaction or attachment to the partner? A study in a pregnancy cohort of parents-to-be.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate possible associations of alexithymia with marital satisfaction and mutual attachment between the partners in a group of parents-to-be during pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study was conducted in a pregnancy cohort. Cross-sectional data were available for 151 mothers and 106 fathers, and altogether 102 couples. The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was used to assess alexithymia, the Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS) to assess romantic relationship satisfaction and the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR) to evaluate attachment-related anxiety and avoidance. Kruskal-Wallis test was used for categorized variable comparisons. For continuous variables, Spearman correlation analyses and linear regression analyses were conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The TAS-20 total score, as well as, two of its dimensions, difficulties in identifying and describing feelings, were significantly correlated (p<0.01) with both the IMS scores and the ECR anxiety and avoidance scores. In the regression analyses, the most significant predictive factor for the subjects' IMS scores was their partners' corresponding scores, although among fathers the IMS scores were partly explained by their own TAS-20 factor 1 scores (p=0.004). The subjects' own TAS-20 scores explained the ECR anxiety and avoidance scores to a significant extent, but the fathers' TAS-20 factor 3 scores were also associated with the mothers' avoidance scores (p=0.037).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Alexithymia was not directly related to marital satisfaction. However, alexithymia appears to have a significant effect on relationship-related anxiety and avoidance. This association should be further studied in parents and their offspring in a longitudinal setting.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Adolescent Psychiatry, Satakunta Hospital District, Pori, Finland; Department of Psychiatry and FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. Electronic address: max.karukivi@utu.fi.
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karukivi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Community Dentistry, Institute of Dentistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Mimmi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tolvanen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Medicine, FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Child Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland; Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Linnea
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Hasse
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karlsson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000523:psychology*