TITLE:
Alexithymia, Psychopathology and Alcohol Misuse in Adolescence: A Population Based Study on 3556 Teenagers
AUTHORS:
Michela Gatta, Irene Facca, Elena Colombo, Lorenza Svanellini, Sara Montagnese, Sami Schiff
KEYWORDS:
Alexithymia; Alcohol; Adolescence; Psychopathology
JOURNAL NAME:
Neuroscience and Medicine,
Vol.5 No.1,
March
24,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Objectives: To analyze the association between
alexithymia and alcohol intake during adolescence, also in relation to psychopathology,
in order to identify psychological risk factors for alcohol misuse. Method:
3556 students [mean age (range) 14.5 years (11-18)] were recruited in the Padua area. Each
was administered a set of three questionnaires: the Toronto Alexithymia Scale
for children (TAS-20) to measure alexithymia, the Questionnaire Adolescent
Saturday evening (QAS) to estimate of alcohol intake, and the Youth Self-Report
(YSR 11-18) to value psychopathology. Results:
Externalizing problems appeared to increase with age and with the amount of
alcohol consumed, unlike internalizing problems. The prevalence of alexithymia
was 18%, decreasing with age, and it was not associated with alcohol
consumption, and used except in younger subjects (≤13), for whom a
positive correlation was observed between alexithymia, internalizing problems
and alcohol intake. Conclusions: Younger adolescents are more psycho-emotionally
vulnerable (internalizing problems and alexithymia) and at a greater risk of alcohol misuse.