What is the relationship between alexithymia and experiential avoidance? A latent analysis using three alexithymia questionnaires

Nathan T. Torunsky, Sara Knauz, Iris Vilares, Katerina M. Marcoulides, Wilma Koutstaal

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Alexithymia is a clinically relevant personality trait characterized by poor emotional awareness and associated with several psychological and physical health concerns. Individuals with high alexithymia tend to engage in experiential avoidance and this may mediate psychological distress. However, little is known about what specific processes of experiential avoidance are involved, and the nature of the relation between alexithymia, experiential avoidance, and psychological distress remains unclear at a latent construct level. To examine this relationship at the latent construct level, a representative sample of 693 U.S. adults completed alexithymia (TAS-20, BVAQ, PAQ), general distress (DASS-21), multi-dimensional experiential avoidance (MEAQ), and general health (PROMIS-G-10) questionnaires. Structural equation modeling revealed that alexithymia significantly predicted experiential avoidance (β = 0.966, t = 82.383, p < .01), experiential avoidance significantly predicted general distress (β = 0.810, t = 2.017, p < .05), and experiential avoidance fully mediated the relationship between alexithymia and general distress (βindirect = −0.159, t = −0.398, p > .05). Correlations between alexithymia and experiential avoidance subfactors revealed a strong relationship to the repression and denial subfactor. Experiential avoidance is a promising target for clinical interventions, though longitudinal research is necessary to elucidate how the relationship between alexithymia and experiential avoidance unfolds over time.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number112308
JournalPersonality and Individual Differences
Volume214
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023

Keywords

  • Alexithymia
  • Emotional awareness
  • Experiential avoidance
  • General distress
  • Structural equation modeling

PubMed: MeSH publication types

  • Journal Article

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