Do alexithymic traits predict illness?

The common theoretical speculation that alexithymic personality characteristics (impoverished fantasy life and difficulty expressing feelings verbally) lead to psychosomatic disease was tested in a sample of 181 men. Unlike previous investigations, this study used a measure of alexithymic characteristics taken at least 1 year before any of the men became ill. Comparisons were made of the premorbid MMPI alexithymia scale scores of groups of men who remained well for 10 years or within 10 years developed either physical illness (cancer or benign tumors), "classical" psychosomatic disease (hypertension or gastrointestinal ulcers), or psychiatric disorder (schizophrenia). Results did not support the notion that alexithymia leads to illness onset. There were no significant differences among the groups in their premorbid alexithymia scores. Furthermore, the groups did not differ in the percentage of individuals labeled alexithymic with the use of previously established cut-off points. Although the findings cast doubt on alexithymia as a cause of illness, they do not conflict with the idea that alexithymia can result from the stress of disease or that this type of personality configuration may lead to a decreased response to treatment and a prolonged course of illness.

The relationship between dependency and the development of cancer.

Theoretical speculations have raised the possibility that oral-dependent traits may predispose certain individuals to cancer. Alternatively, some have suggested that such traits are more broadly predictive of an array of illnesses. This study sought to test whether dependency characteristics predispose men to illness in general or cancer in particular whether such characteristics have no particular effect on the development of illness. Comparisons were made of the premorbid MMPI records of 58 V.A. male domiciliary residents who later developed cancer with the records of 104 residents who either remained disease free or developed one of three other conditions (benign tumors, hypertension, or gastrointestinal ulcers). Scores on eight scales, demonstrated to measure dependency related characteristics, were derived for all subjects. Results showed that four dependency measures predicted the later occurrence of illness. However, none of the measures specifically differentiated cancer from the other illness conditions or the no-disease group. Thus, while findings suggest that dependency may predispose men toward illness, no support was found for a specific link between dependency and cancer.