The stability of alexithymia during work in a high-stress environment: A prospective study of Swedish peacekeepers serving in Kosovo

Authors: LARSSON, MAGNUS R.¹; BÄCKSTRÖM, MARTIN¹; MICHEL, PER-OLOF²; LUNDH, LARS-GUNNAR¹

Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 51, Number 4, August 2010 , pp. 350-355(6)

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Abstract:

Larsson, M. R., Bäckström, M., Michel, P.-O. & Lundh, L.-G. (2010). The stability of alexithymia during work in a high-stress environment: A prospective study of Swedish peacekeepers serving in Kosovo. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology.

We applied a prospective design to reinvestigate the issue whether the sub-domains of alexithymia could be considered stable traits or distress-related states. Assessments of alexithymia and subjective distress were conducted before deployment to Kosovo in a sample of male peacekeepers. A second assessment was conducted approximately six months later during the final phase of service. The results showed evidence of moderate to high relative stability in all alexithymic sub-domains. It was also found that a relative change in subjective distress predicted a relative change in difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings but not in externally oriented thinking. We suggest therefore that the alexithymic sub-domains could be considered relatively stable traits but that the level of difficulty identifying and describing feeling varies with the level of subjective distress.

Keywords: Alexithymia; difficulty identifying feelings; difficulty describing feelings; externally oriented thinking; subjective distress; prospective; peacekeepers

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2010.00807.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Psychology, Lund University, Sweden 2: Department of Neuroscience, Uppsala University, Sweden

Publication date: 2010-08-01