Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of alexithymia in a population sample of young adults

• Published in: Comprehensive psychiatry Vol. 42; no. 6; pp. 471 - 476
• Main Authors: Kokkonen, Pirkko, Karvonen, Juha T., Veijola, Juha, Läksy, Kristian, Jokelainen, Jari, Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta, Joukamaa, Matti
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.11.2001; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Affective Symptoms - epidemiology; Affective Symptoms - psychology; Analysis of Variance; Biological and medical sciences; Cohort Studies; Demography; Female; Finland - epidemiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Male; Personality traits; Personality. Affectivity; Prevalence; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Sex Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Europe; Finland; Human; Mood disorder; Social environment; Rural environment; Urban environment; Prevalence; Socioeconomic status; Education level; Self evaluation; Alexithymia; Mental health; Sex; Depression; Emotion emotionality; Personality; Professional status; Marital status; Follow up study; Sociodemographic factor; Cohort study; Young adult; Comparative study; Public health
• ISSN: 0010-440X; 1532-8384
• DOI: 10.1053/comp.2001.27892

We examined the prevalence of alexithymia and its associations with sociodemographic factors in a population cohort. The study forms part of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort. The original material consisted of all 12,058 live-born children in the provinces of Lapland and Oulu in Finland with an expected delivery date during 1966. The material represents 96% of all births in the region. In 1997, a 31-year follow-up study was conducted on a part of the initial sample. The 20-item version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was given to 5,993 subjects; 84% returned the questionnaire properly answered. It is known that alexithymia is associated with psychological distress. This was measured with the 25-item version of the Hopkins Symptom Check List (HSCL-25). The prevalence of alexithymia (TAS-20 score > 60) was 9.4% in male and 5.2% in female subjects. Alexithymia was associated with poor education and low income level and it was more common among unmarried subjects. After adjusting for psychological distress, these associations remained statistically significant. The prevalence of alexithymia was higher in men than in women and alexithymia was associated with poor social situation. As far as we know, this was the first study to assess the prevalence of alexithymia and its associations with sociodemographic factors in a large and representative cohort sample, adjusted for psychological distress.