Relationship of alexithymia with coping styles and interpersonal problems

AbstractThis study investigated the relationship of alexithymia with coping styles and interpersonal problems. 346 students (156 boys, 190 girls) completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby, Parker, & Taylor, 1994), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (Endler & Parker, 1990), and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (Horowitz, Rosenberg, Baer, Ureno, & Villasenor, 1988). High alexithmic students scored significantly higher than low and nonalexithmic students on emotion-oriented coping as well as interpersonal problems. Nonalexithymic students scored significantly higher than high and low alexithymic students on task-oriented coping. The results support association of alexithymia with maladaptive coping styles and interpersonal relationships