Alexithymia in Depressive, Anxiety, Somatoform, and Psychotic Disorders: A Comparative Study

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the prevalence of alexithymia and determine the differences in structure in patients with depressive, anxiety, somatoform, and psychotic disorders. Methods: The study was performed between April and May 2013 with outpatients who were diagnosed with depressive (n=99), anxiety (n=76), somatoform (n=37), and psychotic (n=45) disorders under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (American Psychiatric Association 2000) and who were being monitored and treated at the outpatient psychiatry clinic of Erzincan State Hospital. The data were collected by two psychiatrists using the face-to-face interview method, which employed a questionnaire and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), in the outpatient clinic environment. Results: Alexithymic construct was found in 55.6% of the psychotic patients, 45.9% of those with somatoform disorders, 43.4% of those with anxiety, and 51.5% of the depressive patients. The TAS-20 average scores were significantly higher in psychotic patients. The Difficulty Identifying Feelings subscale average scores were found to be significantly lower in patients with somatoform disorders (p<0.01). Additionally, the TAS-20 average scores in men, young, those with low education were significantly higher (p<0.001). Conclusion: The study demonstrated that all patient groups had alexithymic construct; however, the prevalence of alexithymia was higher in depressive and psychotic patients. Psychiatric nurses can help in improving patients' quality of life through psychosocial interventions aiming at improved recognition, identification and description of feelings, communication skills and insight.