Alexithymia in Egyptian substance abusers

• Published in: Substance abuse Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 11 - 21
• Main Author: El Rasheed, Amany Haroun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Taylor & Francis Group 01.03.2001; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: affect; alexithymia; emotions; substance abuse; alexithymia; emotions; substance abuse; affect
• ISSN: 0889-7077; 1547-0164
• DOI: 10.1080/08897070109511442

Alexithymia is thought of as a trait that predisposes to drug abuse. Moreover, it is suggested to be related to type of the substance abused, with the worst-case scenario including a worse prognosis as well as tendency to relapse or even not to seek treatment at all. To address this important subject in Egyptian patients, a sample of 200 Egyptian substance abusers was randomly selected from inpatients in the Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University, Egypt. The study also included 200 group-matched controls. DSM-IV criteria were used for assessment of substance use disorders, and toxicologic urine analysis was used to confirm the substances of abuse. Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS)-Arabic version was used for assessment of alexithymia. It was found that alexithymia was significantly more prevalent in the substance use disorders group as compared to healthy controls. It was also found that among the substance use disorders group, alexithymics reported more polysubstance abuse, more opiate use (other than heroin TV), lower numbers of hospitalizations, lower numbers of reported relapses, and a lower tendency to relapse as a result of internal cues compared to patients without alexithymia. Statistically significant associations were also found between alexithymia and more benzodiazepine abuse and nonpersistence in treatment. The results suggest that alexithymia should be targeted in a treatment setting for substance use disorders.