Self-Criticism and Self-Compassion as Mediators of the Relationship between Alexithymia and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms*

Postpartum depression (PPD) is common after birth and can have a profound effect on women and their families. It is therefore important to understand the conditions and factors that lead to the occurrence and maintenance of PPD. The first aim of the current study was to identify whether there is a relationship between alexithymia and postpartum depressive symptoms (PPDS) in a sample of Romanian mothers. The second aim was to explore whether self-criticism and self-compassion mediate the relationship between alexithymia and PPDS. The current cross-sectional study included 307 mothers with babies aged between four weeks and one year. The results show that alexithymia, self-compassion, self-criticism, PPDS all correlated with one another, and self-criticism, self-compassion and alexithymia are significant predictors of PPDS. Moreover, self-criticism and self-compassion mediated the relationship between alexithymia and PPDS. A psychological therapy that increases selfcompassion and reduces alexithymia and self-criticism may be beneficial for preventing symptoms of PPD.

The relationship between the psychological distress derived from COVID-19 and the loss aversion is modulated by the alexithymia trait

studies on stress and decision-making usually address acute and artificial stressors. However, COVID-19 outbreak set the perfect scena-rio to address how decision-making, and specifically loss aversion, could be affected by a real and persistent stressor, able to promote a significant psychological distress. In parallel, alexithymia has been identified as a potential moderator of the loss aversion expression, since it could impair the incorporation of emotional information when making a decision, leading to "cold" decisions. Through a within-subjects design (N = 70), our aim was to study the relationship between the psychological distress caused by the pandemic context and the loss aversion changes, considering alexithymia as a moderating factor. Our results show a significant increment in both psychological distress and loss aversion, merely one month after the confinement's onset. Moreover, both variables were positively associated only when alexithymia was low, i.e., the alexithymia buffered the effect of psychological distress on decision-making: a higher alexithymia implied a lower loss aversion increase.

Interoceptive Abilities in Irritable Bowel Sydrome from Long Covid Disease

SCOPO DEL LAVORO: Long COVID is defined as the continuation of symptoms much longer than usually expected or the persistence of symptoms despite the recovery of the infection. While research on long COVID is in full swing, only little attention has been paid to the associated psychiatric symptoms. In particular, the association between long COVID and somatic symptom disorders (SSD) has been overlooked. Beyond anxiety and depression symptoms, patients with COVID-19 present a high risk to develop SSD. SSD, previously known as somatoform disorders, have been defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) as persistent and clinically significant somatic symptoms accompanied by excessive and disproportionate health-related thoughts, feelings and behaviours regarding the symptoms. Noviello et Al (2021) in their study show that acute SARS-CoV-2 infection may affect the brain-gut axis. Five months after the acute infection, mild gastroenterological symptoms persist, in particular in patients reporting diarrhea in the acute phase of the infection. Infected patients are also at increased risk of chronic fatigue and somatoform disorders, thus supporting the hypothesis that both functional gastrointestinal (like IBS) and somatoform disorders may have a common biological origin. IBS present an impairment in interoception and high levels of alexithymia. Interoception refers to the ability to accurately detect internal body changes. Alexithymia is a personality construct that implies difficulties identifying and describing one's own feelings, limited imaginative processes, an externally oriented cognitive style, and difficulties in distinguishing between feelings and bodily sensations. This construct is associated with many disorders, such as gastrointestinal pathologies. Given the relationship between long covid disease and gastrointestinal somatoform disorders (like IBS), and between interoceptive abilities and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, then it's conceivable a mediating role of interoceptive abilities in long covid IBS that deserves to be analyzed. MATERIALI E METODI: Subjects: All the patients aged between 18 and 60 years who tested positive at least 5 months before. Measures: - Toronto Alexithymia Scale - Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - Structured Assessment of Gastrointestinal Symptoms (SAGIS) questionnaire - Heart Rate Variability - Blood samples were collected between 8:30 am and 9:00 am. RISULTATI: There is a deficiency in interoceptive skills and high levels of alexithymia in patients with IBS and who have been infected with covid. CONCLUSIONI: In a current society, undermined by the psychophysical consequences of covid, Identifying factors that affect the well-being like Interoception training (as it is a learned skill), renders possible an intervention to modify some of these factors or promote a better understanding of patients with IBS who experience alternate periods of remission and relapse. .

Co-Occurring Physical Health Challenges in Neurodivergent Children and Young People: A Topical Review and Recommendation

Background: Neurodivergence has been established as associated with a significant number of co-occurring physical conditions, particularly for autistic individuals who are at risk for increased pain, hypermobility (including Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) and gastrointestinal problems. However, data, so far, has been focused on adults and generally limited to discussions of condition prevalence alone. Method(s): The following article will present a topical review of the literature considering evidence for increased physical health concerns within neurodivergent populations, particularly autistic individuals, with a focus on the impact that these physical health concerns may have in an educational setting. Results and discussion: The impact of physical health concerns within neurodivergent populations in an educational setting may be concerning. Such populations may face a range of challenges in obtaining appropriate support for physical conditions. We discuss a number of said challenges including;communication challenges, misattributing physical health symptoms as a part of neurodivergence, and a history of not being believed, which limits symptomatic reporting. We further consider the potential impact these physical health concerns may have on scholastic and social development, such as impacts for attainment and attendance. Furthermore, we provide recommendations for teachers, parents/carers and other allied professionals in young people's lives, on supporting young neurodivergent people with physical health concerns.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Orthorexia nervosa and its association with alexithymia, emotion dysregulation and disordered eating attitudes among Lebanese adults.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore whether orthorexia nervosa, like other eating disorders, is associated with difficulties identifying, describing, and regulating one's own emotions among a sample of Lebanese adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted during October 2020, during the lockdown period imposed by the government for the COVID-19 pandemic. All participants above 18 years of age were allowed to participate in this study. A total of 787 Lebanese adults out of 920 (85.54%) completed an online survey including Arabic versions of the ORTO-R measure of orthorexia, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the Eating Attitudes Test. RESULTS: After making sure that all norms are verified, hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to evaluate the association between disordered eating attitudes (EAT scores) and ON (model 1), and after controlling for difficulties in emotion regulation (DERS score) (model 2). Model 1 accounted for 15.1% of the variance of ON (adj. R2 = 0.151, F(1, 786) = 140.06, p < 0.001) and showed that higher levels of disordered eating (higher EAT scores) (ß = 0.15) were significantly associated with more ON tendencies and behaviors. When adding the DERS total score to the model, Model 2 was a much better fit with 17.7% of the variance of ON (adj. R2 = 0.177, F(2, 786) = 84.44, p < 0.001), with higher levels of emotion dysregulation (higher DERS scores) (ß = 0.06) and more disordered eating attitudes (higher EAT scores) (ß = 0.13) were associated with higher levels of ON (Table 5). CONCLUSION: The present research suggests that people with high ON tendencies experience troubles recognizing, regulating, and describing their emotions, similarly to other disordered eating. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 5.

Psychological correlates of perceived loneliness in college students before and during the COVID-19 stay-at-home period: a longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Loneliness is increasingly acknowledged as a serious public health issue. This longitudinal study aimed to assess the extent to which psychological distress and alexithymia can predict loneliness among Italian college students before and one year after the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODS: A convenience sample of 177 psychology college students were recruited. Loneliness (UCLA), alexithymia (TAS-20), anxiety symptoms (GAD-7), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), and somatic symptoms (PHQ-15) were assessed before the COVID-19 outbreak and one year after the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. RESULTS: After controlling for baseline loneliness, students with high levels of loneliness during lockdown showed worsening psychological distress and alexithymic traits over time. Suffering from depressive symptoms before COVID-19 and the aggravation of alexithymic traits independently predicted 41% of perceived loneliness during the COVID-19 outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: College students with higher levels of depression and alexithymic traits both before and one year after the lockdown were more at risk of suffering from perceived loneliness and may constitute the target sample for psychological support and intervention.

Alexithymia and Alcohol Use: Evaluating the Role of Interoceptive Sensibility with the Revised Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness.

Alexithymia has been linked to risky or problematic alcohol use, with a common interpretation invoking deficient emotion regulation and use of alcohol to cope with distress. An alternative explanation positing a general deficit of interoception in alexithymia suggested that poor awareness of internal cues of overconsumption may promote excessive drinking. The present study assessed predictions based on these hypotheses in 337 young adult alcohol users recruited online. Participants completed validated questionnaire indices of alcohol use, alexithymia, emotion regulation, interoceptive sensibility, and sensitivity to reward and punishment. Alcohol use was positively correlated with alexithymia and reward sensitivity, and negatively correlated with emotion regulation as expected, but was uncorrelated with interoceptive sensibility. Alexithymia was not significantly correlated with most dimensions of interoceptive sensibility but was highly negatively correlated with emotion regulation. Hierarchical regression controlling for demographic variables indicated that alexithymia, emotion regulation, sex, and sensitivity to reward and punishment were significant predictors of alcohol use levels. Bootstrapped mediation test controlling for all other variables indicated mediation of the association between alexithymia and alcohol use by deficient emotion regulation but not interoceptive sensibility. Results supported the emotion regulation deficit interpretation of the association of alexithymia with alcohol use. Limitations concerning interoception measurement, online samples, self-report measures, cross-sectional designs, and collection of data during the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed. Future research could follow up on these findings by testing interoceptive accuracy in addition to interoceptive sensibility in relation to alexithymia and alcohol use.

COVID-19 stressor reduces risk taking: the role of trait interoception.

The Framing Effect (FE) demonstrated that the way two alternatives are displayed affects people's inclination to make a specific choice, showing a risk aversion when alternatives are displayed on positive frames and risk seeking in negative frames. Risk seeking in negative frames is closely linked to loss aversion. Moreover, classical research and the salience-of-losses hypothesis argues that stress may enhance the FE and loss aversion. Recent studies also suggest that the trait interoception and alexithymia could interact and moderate the framing susceptibility. However, experimental paradigms on stress could ignore variables such as threat perception. In this sense, COVID-19 pandemic has become a powerful real-life stressor in many countries. We aimed to study how real-life stressors influence decision-making under risk. A total of 97 participants were divided into a control (n = 48) and an experimental group (n = 49). The experimental group were exposed to a stressor manipulation, a 5 min COVID-19 lockdown documentary. Our results show that COVID-19-related stressors significantly decreased bet acceptance regardless of the frame, also reducing loss aversion. Moreover, interoception was a significant predictor of loss aversion under stress conditions. Our results do not support classical research on stress and FE.

Exploring alexithymia profiles and their associations with childhood adversity and COVID-19 burnout among Chinese college students: A person-centered approach

Alexithymia is associated with adverse developmental outcomes. However, this concept has been criticized for being heavily influenced by Western norms of emotional expression and for potentially pathologizing people from different cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, the widely employed variable-centered study approaches hinder research understanding of real-world alexithymia profiles. Using a person-centered approach, the current study investigated the alexithymia profiles among Chinese college students and tested the profiles' relations with childhood adversity and COVID-19 burnout. Four latent alexithymia profiles were identified. The High I profile (particular difficulty identifying feelings) emerged as a risk profile for childhood adversity and COVID-19 burnout. Our findings illustrate the heterogeneity of the alexithymia construct and represent a significant step toward expanding cross-cultural understanding of alexithymia profiles and their associations with related psychological constructs. When dealing with childhood adversity and COVID-19 burnout, health care programs should consider a specific alexithymia profile defined by difficulty identifying feelings. © 2022 Elsevier Inc.

Investigating Functioning Profile of Adolescents with Anorexia before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study on Mentalizing, Alexithymia, and Impulsiveness.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) usually emerges in adolescence when important changes occur in cognitive, emotional, and social processes. Mentalizing, alexithymia, and impulsiveness represent key dimensions for the understanding and interpretation of psychological difficulties in AN. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted adolescents with AN, showing a worsening of the disease. The main aims of the present paper are (1) to compare adolescents with AN before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to explore the relationship between mentalizing, alexithymia, impulsiveness, and psychological difficulties related to eating disorders in adolescents with AN during the COVID-19 pandemic. One hundred and ninety-six AN female adolescents (N = 94 before COVID-19; N = 102 during COVID-19) participated in this study. The results show that adolescents with AN during the COVID-19 pandemic had a more impaired functioning profile than the before COVID-19 group. Mentalizing, alexithymia, and impulsiveness had a predictive role on psychological difficulties related to eating disorders in adolescents with AN during the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, our data reveal that the COVID-19 pandemic has likely represented a stress condition that affects mental health; worsening the severity of adolescents with AN clinical condition. Lastly, predictive patterns suggest the existence of a link between difficulties in the ability to face the problems of the present time using effective strategies and the severity of psychological symptoms.

Alexithymia phenomenology in psychology: innovative explanatory-functional psychological paradigm

INTRODUCTION: Alexithymia brings negative consequences on the psycho-emotional well-being and health of an individual. This narrative review attempted to explore previous research at the objective to advance understanding of psychological essence and genesis on this phenomenon. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: On the research topic, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo and PubMed original articles, dissertations and monographs were found to be included in the overview (totally, 109 publications). We presented an analysis of numerous investigations and review works with the aim to fill the existing large gap in the psychological explanation of the emergence and functioning of alexithymia. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: The truth is that alexithymia is still predominantly studied at the clinical-medical level. Namely, psychological roots are not considered in research or reviews at all, and no consensus on alexithymia psychological origin exists. Evidence indicated that whilst the existing research findings establish multisided relationships between alexithymia and various risk-factors, extremely little is known about its psychological origin and mechanism. CONCLUSION(S): The present overview is the first attempt to elucidate psychological essence and genesis of alexithymic symptoms and delve into presenting a disclosure and adequate explanation of the psychological mechanism of alexithymia functioning. Moreover, for the first time an innovative definition of alexithymia is given within the framework of the explanatory-functional psychological paradigm. This article is a narrative review with less rigorous methodology;nevertheless, it is useful for coherent detailed highlighting the problem posed and in cases when too much research from different scientific fields and directions is analyzed. Copyright © 2022 Edizioni Minerva Medica. All right reserved.

[Personality traits as risk factors for the development of cognitive impairment and affective symptoms in patients with COVID-19]. / Osobennosti lichnosti kak faktory riska razvitiya kognitivnykh narushenii i affektivnoi simptomatiki u perenesshikh COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: To identify possible associations between premorbid personality traits and cognitive impairment and affective symptoms in patients who have recovered from COVID-19. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 30 people with the so-called post-COVID syndrome. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was previously confirmed by laboratory tests in each patient. The control group included 15 healthy individuals. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to assess depression and anxiety. Cognitive function was assessed using the Verbal Fluency Test (VF), the Montreal Cognitive Scale (MOCA), and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The Munich Personality Test (MRT) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-26) were used to assess premorbid personality characteristics. Multiple stepwise regression analysis was used as the main statistical method to identify the relationship between premorbid personality constructs and cognitive test results and affective and anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: The presence of frustration tolerance in the personality structure reduced the number of incorrect answers (beta coefficient -0.811) in WCST and decreased the delay in responses with positive reinforcement (-0.630), and also reduced the level of depression (-0.465). Extraversion decreased the MOCA test score (-0.675) and increased the percentage of perseverative incorrect answers on the WCST test (0.573). The constructs of adherence to social norms and propensity to isolate lowered the final MOCA score (beta coefficients are -0.725 and -0.527, respectively). The esoteric tendencies construct decreased the latency of positive and negative reinforcement responses in WCST (-0.441 and -0.528, respectively). The severity of alexithymia was positively correlated with depression (beta 0.577), while neuroticism was positively correlated with anxiety (0.737). CONCLUSION: Low levels of frustration tolerance and esoteric tendencies have negative effects on cognition in COVID-19 survivors, while high levels of these constructs are protective against cognitive decline and depression.

An observational naturalistic study on non-suicidal self-harm behaviours in a cohort of adolescents and young inpatients during COVID-19 outbreak

Introduction: Non-suicidal self-harm (NSSH) include deliberate behaviours with the intent to self-injure. NSSH prevalence ranges 15.5%-31.3% in adolescents and young adults<25 years-old. Objective(s): Our aim is characterizing the psychopathological domains occurring in adolescent and young adults with NSSH during the second COVID-19-related wave (October 2020-August 2021). Method(s): A cross-sectional study recruited inpatients aged 15-24 consecutively afferent to psychiatric ward due to NSSH, by investigating anger rumination(ARS), emotional regulation (DERS), dissociation (DES-II), metacognitive capabilities(MCQ-30), perceived stress (PSS), self-criticism (LOSCS), emotional intelligence (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test-RMET), aggressiveness (AQ), impulsiveness (BIS-11), hopelessness(BHS), alexithymia (TAS-20). NSSH were characterized by using suicide score scale(SSS) and deliberate self-harm interview (DSHI). Result(s): A 7-fold increase in young inpatient access was observed from 2019 to 2021. DSHI median was 2 (95%CI=1,17-2,73), SSS-12months median was 5 (95%CI=4.2-6.7), SSS-lifetime median was 5 (95%CI=3.4-5.3) and MINI median was 5 (95% CI=3.4-4.7). Linear regression analysis and Pearson's correlations revealed strong correlations between DSHI and BHS (r=0.550), TAS-20 (r=0.495), AQ-hostility(r=0.529),AQ-total (r=0.446), PSS (r=0.454), DERS-total (r=0.621), DERS-lack-of-control (r=0.658),MCQ-total(r=0.534),MCQ-perception-danger-not- control (r=0.583);between SSS-12months and AQ-total (r=0.456), AQ-Anger (r=0.443), BIS-total(r=0.457),BIS-Attentional-Impulsiveness (r=0.511),BIS-Complex-Motor-Impulsiveness (r=0.507), PSS (r=0.617), DERS(r=0.571), DES(r=0.559). Conclusion(s): COVID-19-related increased perceived stress and depressive symptomatology may have facilitated the onset of severe NSSH in adolescents and young people with trait impulsiveness, hostility and affective dysregulation.

Exploring alexithymia profiles and their associations with childhood adversity and COVID-19 burnout among Chinese college students: A person-centered approach

Alexithymia is associated with adverse developmental outcomes. However, this concept has been criticized for being heavily influenced by Western norms of emotional expression and for potentially pathologizing people from different cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, the widely employed variable-centered study approaches hinder research understanding of real-world alexithymia profiles. Using a person-centered approach, the current study investigated the alexithymia profiles among Chinese college students and tested the profiles' relations with childhood adversity and COVID-19 burnout. Four latent alexithymia profiles were identified. The High I profile (particular difficulty identifying feelings) emerged as a risk profile for childhood adversity and COVID-19 burnout. Our findings illustrate the heterogeneity of the alexithymia construct and represent a significant step toward expanding cross-cultural understanding of alexithymia profiles and their associations with related psychological constructs. When dealing with childhood adversity and COVID-19 burnout, health care programs should consider a specific alexithymia profile defined by difficulty identifying feelings.

Internet Addiction among Young Adult University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Peritraumatic Distress, Attachment, and Alexithymia.

The literature focused on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on young adult university students' mental health shows a significant increase in psychopathological symptoms and Internet Addiction (IA). The key role played by attachment and alexithymia has also been suggested, but no study has explored the possible dynamic relationship between these variables. We recruited a sample of n = 410 young adult university students online. We assessed the attachment to parents and peers (through IPPA), alexithymia (through TAS-20), peritraumatic distress symptoms due to COVID-19 (through CPDI), and IA (through IAT). The results showed that the relationship between the attachment to mothers and IA was partially mediated by alexithymia and by the serial mediation of alexithymia and peritraumatic distress, whereas the influence of the attachment to fathers on IA was fully mediated by peritraumatic distress. The direct effects of the attachment to peers on alexithymia, peritraumatic distress, and IA were all significant, as were the indirect paths via the simple mediation of both alexithymia and peritraumatic distress and the multiple serial mediation of alexithymia and peritraumatic distress. Our findings suggested that the relationship between attachment, alexithymia, and psychopathological risk is dynamic in predicting IA during the pandemic among young adult university students and that the different attachment figures exert a peculiar contribution to these processes.

Prevalence and Relationships between Alexithymia, Anhedonia, Depression and Anxiety during the Belgian COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown.

Alexithymia and anhedonia are associated with psychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety. The COVID-19 pandemic lead to a significant deterioration in the mental health of the population. It is therefore important to examine the effects of lockdown on alexithymia and anhedonia and their relationships with anxiety and depression. We compared the scores and characteristics of 286 patients divided into two groups: one before lockdown (group 1, N = 127), the other during the progressive lockdown release (group 2, N = 159). The groups were homogeneous in terms of age, sex ratio, socio-professional categories, and somatic and psychiatric comorbidities. The groups were compared on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) measuring alexithymia, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) measuring depression, the anhedonia subscale of the BDI-II measuring state-anhedonia and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) measuring state and trait anxiety. The ratio of alexithymic subjects in group 1 is 22.83% to 33.33% in group 2 (p-value = 0.034). This suggests a significant increase in the number of alexithymic patients after lockdown. We did not observe any difference in the proportion of depressed and anxious subjects before or after lockdown. Among the different scales, higher scores were only found on the cognitive factor of alexithymia on group 2 comparatively to group 1. This study indicates an increase in the proportion of alexithymic subjects following lockdown. Unexpectedly, this was unrelated to depression, anxiety or anhedonia levels, which remained stable. Further studies are needed to confirm this result and to evaluate precisely which factors related to the lockdown context are responsible for such an increase.

Somatic, Emotional and Behavioral Symptomatology in Children during COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Children's and Parents' Alexithymia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected the psychophysical wellbeing of children worldwide. Alexithymia, a personality trait involving difficulties in identifying and expressing feelings represents a vulnerability factor for stress-related disorders. Under pandemic stress exposure, we aimed to investigate the role of parents' and children's alexithymia in the psychophysical symptomatology shown by children and to evaluate possible differences according to age, gender and history of COVID-19 infections. The perception of parents and children about the impact of the pandemic on children's emotional, social and physiological wellbeing was also explored. Sixty-five familial triads were surveyed in the period from March to May 2022: children (n = 33 males; mean age = 9.53, sd = 1.55), mothers (mean age = 44.12; sd = 6.10) and fathers (mean age = 47.10; sd = 7.8). Both parental and children's alexithymia scores were significantly associated with somatic and externalizing symptomatology in children. Self-reported anger and externally oriented thinking scores were higher in younger children (age 8-9.9 years) than in older ones (10-12 years). Girls scored higher than boys in somatic complaints, as reported by parents. No difference emerged between children affected/not affected by COVID-19. Notably, children reported a greater negative impact of the pandemic on their emotional and psychosocial well-being than their parents. The findings emphasize the role of alexithymia in the occurrence of psychophysical symptoms in children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduced parental awareness of the emotional burden imposed by the pandemic on children indicates the need to better consider how epidemics affect children's mental health and to develop adequate preventive strategies to support them in these exceptional times.

The relationship between social media addiction levels and alexithymia in young people at home during pandemic process

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between social media addiction levels and alexithymia in young people who were at home during the pandemic process. The descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 520 young people between 01.01.2021-15.01.2021. Data were collected using a personal information form, Social Media Addiction Scale and Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U tests and correlation and regression analysis were used to evaluate the data. The total score average of the Social Media Addiction Scale of the youth was 94.65 +/- 37.63 and the total score average of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale was 50.04 +/- 12.14. It was determined that 44.6% of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale received 51 points. A positive and moderate correlation was found between Social Media Addiction Scale and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (r = 0.463, p = 0.001). Social media addiction was found to affect alexithymia by 21.3% according to the regression analysis. It has been determined that the social media addiction levels of the young people are medium and their alexithymia levels are high. It has been found that there is a significant relationship between social media addiction and alexithymia. Copyright © 2023, Eduem - Editora da Universidade Estadual de Maringa. All rights reserved.

[COVID-19 and chronic pain: online survey in the domestic population]. / Covid-19 és krónikus fájdalom: online felmérés a pandémia alatt fájdalommal élo, ellátásban nem részesülo személyek körében.

Background and purpose: The problems caused by the COVID-19 epidemic have the worst impact on chronic patient populations. People with chronic pain are one of the most vulnerable groups due to stress, disruption of daily routine, family problems, illness and difficulty in hospital care. It is therefore essential to assess the situation and mental well-being of this group. The aim of this survey was to assess chronic pain patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing psychological background factors that might affect pain symptoms, such as depression, emotion regulation, alexithymia, well-being, health literacy and social support. Methods: 158 people participated in the survey, reporting pain for at least 3 months but had not received medical treatment. Data was collected at two dates: February and December 2021. Participants completed an online questionnaire due to the pandemic situation. The following six psychological questionnaires were used in the survey: Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Beck Depression Inventory 9-item version, Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Chew-questions measuring health literacy, WHO Well-being Index. Results: The participants ranged from 20 to 80 years in age, of whom 140 (88%) were female. 42 participants (27%) achieved severe alexithymia. 118 people (75%) had depression, of which 72 people (46%) had mild depression, 26 (16%) had moderate depression, and 20 (13%) had severe depression. The degree of pain and alexithy-mia (r(158) = 0.16, p = 0.004), depression (r(158) = 0.41, p < 0.001), difficulties in emotion regulation (r(158) = 0.26, p = 0.004), and health literacy, and difficulties in emotion regulation (r(158) = 0.25, p = 0.001) were positively and significantly related. Conclusion: In addition to the characteristic comorbidities of people living with pain (e.g. anxiety, emotion disorder, sleep disorder), the epidemic-induced prolonged social isolation, stress and fear of illness may explain the proportion of high depression, emotion regulation difficulties or health literacy problems in the study sample which exacerbate alexithymia and the degree of pain. Based on these results it is important to draw the attention of professionals to the appropriate health care and educational needs of those affected.

Analysis on Burnout, Job Conditions, Alexithymia, and Other Psychological Symptoms in a Sample of Italian Anesthesiologists and Intensivists, Assessed Just before the COVID-19 Pandemic: An AAROI-EMAC Study.

Background. It was previously reported that health care professionals working in the fields of anesthesiology and emergency are at higher risk of burnout. However, the correlations between burnout, alexithymia, and other psychological symptoms are poorly investigated. Furthermore, there is a lack of evidence on which risk factors, specific to the work of anesthetists and intensivists, can increase the risk of burnout, and which are useful for developing remedial health policies. Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020 on a sample of 300 professionals recruited from AAROI-EMAC subscribers in Italy. Data collection instruments were a questionnaire on demographic, education, job characteristics and well-being, the Maslach Burnout Inventory Tool, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Symptom Checklist-90-R, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale administered during refresher courses in anesthesiology. Correlations between burnout and physical and psychological symptoms were searched. Results. With respect to burnout, 29% of individuals scored at high risk on emotional exhaustion, followed by 36% at moderate-high risk. Depersonalization high and moderate-high risk were scored by 18.7% and 34.3% of individuals, respectively. Burnout personal accomplishment was scored by 34.7% of respondents. The highest mean scores of burnout dimensions were related to dissatisfaction with one's career, conflicting relationships with surgeons, and, finally, difficulty in explaining one's work to patients. Conclusions. Burnout rates in Italian anesthesiologists and intensivists have been worrying since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Anesthesiologists with higher levels of alexithymia are more at risk for burnout. It is therefore necessary to take urgent health policy measures..