THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOOD, SOMATIZATION, AND ALEXITHYMIA IN PREMENSTRUAL-SYNDROME

To examine the relationship between mood, somatization, and alexithymi a in premenstrual syndrome (PMS), 66 women with a prospectively confir med diagnosis of PMS were compared with a group of 49 non-PMS control women on a battery of self-administered tests measuring depression, an xiety, somatization, and alexithymia. Based on their scores on the Bec k Depression Inventory, the PMS patients were subdivided into a high-d epression and low-depression group and compared with the non-PMS contr ol group on all test measures. Significantly greater somatization and alexithymia were reported in the high-depression PMS group, and no dif ferences were found on any of the test measures between the low-depres sion PMS and non-PMS control groups.