Alexithymia and psychopathological symptoms in adolescent outpatients and mothers suffering from migraines: a case control study.
BACKGROUND
Headache is a common disorder affecting a growing number of children and adolescents. In recent years, there has been an increase in scientific interest in exploring the relationship between migraine and emotional regulation, and in particular, the impact of emotional dysregulation on mental and physical health. The present study aims to explore the relationship between migraine and alexithymia among adolescents and their mothers as well as the impact of this association on mental health. An additional aim is to verify whether alexithymia may be a predictor of psychopathological symptoms in adolescents and mothers with migraines.


METHODS
A total of 212 subjects were involved in this study. The sample was divided into (a) Experimental Group (EG) consisting of 106 subjects (53 adolescents and 53 mothers) with a diagnosis of migraine according to International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3) and (b) Control Group (CG) including 106 subjects (53 adolescents and 53 mothers) without a diagnosis of migraine. All participants completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale to assess alexithymia and the Symptom Checklist-90-R to assess psychopathological symptoms.


RESULTS
Higher rates of alexithymia were found in the adolescents and mothers of the EG in comparison to the adolescents and mothers of the CG. Furthermore, adolescents and mothers experiencing both migraine and alexithymia, demonstrated a higher risk of psychopathology.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings from this study provide evidence that the co-occurrence of migraine and alexithymia increases the risk of psychopathology for both adolescents and their mothers.
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via degli Apuli, 1, Rome, Italy.
Rita
R
Cerutti
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via degli Apuli, 1, Rome, Italy.
Carmela
C
Valastro
Headeache Center, Division of Neurology, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, IRCCS, Piazza S.Onofrio, 4, Rome, Italy.
Samuela
S
Tarantino
Headeache Center, Division of Neurology, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, IRCCS, Piazza S.Onofrio, 4, Rome, Italy.
Massimiliano
M
Valeriani
Department of Pediatrics and Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Sabelli, 108-00185, Rome, Italy.
Noemi
N
Faedda
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via degli Apuli, 1, Rome, Italy.
Valentina
V
Spensieri
Department of Pediatrics and Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Sabelli, 108-00185, Rome, Italy. vincenzo.guidetti@uniroma1.it.
Vincenzo
V
Guidetti
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D010045:Outpatients
Adolescents; Alexithymia; Migraine; Mothers; Psychopathological risk