Depression partially mediates the relationship between alexithymia and somatization in a sample of healthy children

Laura B. Allen; Lu Qian Lu; Jennie C.I. Tsao; Loran P. Hayes; Lonnie K. Zeltzer

doi:10.1177/1359105311402407

Depression partially mediates the relationship between alexithymia and somatization in a sample of healthy children

Laura B. Allen, Lu Qian Lu, Jennie C.I. Tsao, Loran P. Hayes, Lonnie K. Zeltzer

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

36 Scopus citations

Abstract

A link between alexithymia and somatization has been widely established, yet little is known about different factors that may influence this relationship. Evidence supporting the idea of psychopathology as a mediator has been presented but not widely tested, particularly in children. The present study examined depressive symptoms as a mediator of alexithymia and somatization in a sample of healthy children in order to better understand the alexithymia-somatization link from a developmental perspective. Results indicated that depression significantly partially mediated this relationship, at least for two facets of alexithymia (difficulty identifying and describing feelings). Possible mechanisms, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1177-1186
Number of pages	10
Journal	Journal of Health Psychology
Volume	16
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105311402407
State	Published - Nov 1 2011
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

depression
emotions
health psychology
mediator
youth

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Applied Psychology

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10.1177/1359105311402407

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abstract = "A link between alexithymia and somatization has been widely established, yet little is known about different factors that may influence this relationship. Evidence supporting the idea of psychopathology as a mediator has been presented but not widely tested, particularly in children. The present study examined depressive symptoms as a mediator of alexithymia and somatization in a sample of healthy children in order to better understand the alexithymia-somatization link from a developmental perspective. Results indicated that depression significantly partially mediated this relationship, at least for two facets of alexithymia (difficulty identifying and describing feelings). Possible mechanisms, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.",

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AU - Qian Lu, Lu

AU - Tsao, Jennie C.I.

AU - Hayes, Loran P.

AU - Zeltzer, Lonnie K.

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AB - A link between alexithymia and somatization has been widely established, yet little is known about different factors that may influence this relationship. Evidence supporting the idea of psychopathology as a mediator has been presented but not widely tested, particularly in children. The present study examined depressive symptoms as a mediator of alexithymia and somatization in a sample of healthy children in order to better understand the alexithymia-somatization link from a developmental perspective. Results indicated that depression significantly partially mediated this relationship, at least for two facets of alexithymia (difficulty identifying and describing feelings). Possible mechanisms, implications, and directions for future research are discussed.

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Depression partially mediates the relationship between alexithymia and somatization in a sample of healthy children

Abstract

Keywords

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