Incidence and implications of alexithymia in chronic pain patients.

Alexithymia is a clinical phenomenon that has been found to occur with some frequency in psychosomatic disorders. Its prevalence in psychosomatic patients suggests that it could be observed in chronic pain patients as well. The present study examines the incidence of alexithymia in chronic pain patients as assessed by the Archetypal Test with Nine Elements (AT9). Patients' scores on the AT9 (SAT9) were examined in conjunction with McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) data, MMPI subscale scores, and patient data. There were no significant relationships found between SAT9, MMPI, and MPQ scores. These observations are examined with reference to the nature of the assessment instruments used. Implications of these observations for theory and therapy are discussed.

A test to measure the awareness and expression of anger.

The purpose of this project was to develop a reliable, objective and practical tool with which the awareness and expression of anger could be investigated. This paper gives a description of the Awareness and Expression of Anger Indicator (AEAI). The AEAI is a short and easy to use test. It provides a new objective assessment instrument of value in cases where deficits in affective processes, particularly anger, are suspected. 30 medical patients were tested with the AEAI. The investigators report a high inter-rater reliability in scoring the test. Four distinct response patterns emerged. Also, when confronted with the same anger-provoking stimulus, subjects responded significantly differently with respect to whether or not they felt angry, depending on the type of question. Traditional inducing questions, e.g.: Would you feel angry?, produced significantly more affirmative responses (reports of feeling angry) than non-inducing questions, e.g.: How would you feel? The contribution of the AEAI to chronic pain work is discussed.