CHILDHOOD ABUSE, ALEXITHYMIA AND PERSONALITY-DISORDER

I examined the relationships among childhood abuse, alexithymia, and p ersonality disorder. Participants were 60 adults who were receiving ou tpatient psychotherapy. Both the participants and their therapists use d the Toronto Alexithymia Scale to provide independently information c oncerning the client's level of alexithymia. The therapists provided i nformation concerning DSM-III-R personality disorder diagnoses, and pa rticipants completed portions of the Personality Diagnostic Questionna ire-Revised. Information concerning childhood abuse history was obtain ed from the therapists. As expected, childhood abuse, alexithymia, and personality disorder were all associated with each other. The abiliti es to identify and communicate emotions were differentially associated with childhood abuse and personality disorder. Copyright (C) 1996 Els evier Science Inc.