The Relationship between Reflective Functioning and Alexithymia

Background: The aim of this study was to verify the relationship between the construct of reflective functioning and the construct of alexithymia, taking also into account the role of gender differences. Methods: Participants in the study were 216. Every participant had an Italian nationality and ages ranging from 18 to 30 (50% males), and were recruited through social networks. Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-8). Results: The findings of the study showed that alexithymia scores were associated with reflective functioning scores. In particular, results showed that certainty of mental states was negatively correlated with alexithymia, while uncertainty of mental states was positively correlated with alexithymia. Certainty of mental states was also negatively with an externally-oriented thinking, while uncertainty of mental states was not significantly correlated with an externally-oriented thinking. Furthermore, effects on gender were also found. In particular, results showed that the difficulty in describing feelings was higher for males. Conclusions: These results might help to extend the current correlational studies of this field. By a clinical point of view, the findings of this study might encourage the choice of different approaches in the treatments of patients with both alexithymic and reflective functioning issues