ILLNESS BELIEFS AND ALEXITHYMIA IN HEADACHE PATIENTS

Research regarding psychological factors in head pain have generally f ocused upon personality traits and psychopathology. The role of illnes s beliefs offers another method of elucidating perceptions, attitudes and convictions towards a somatic complaint. One hundred patients, eva luated for head pain at a neurology clinic, were administered the Illn ess Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ) to delineate Illness beliefs; the Ill ness Effects Questionnaire (IEQ) to quantify the disruptive aspects of head pain; and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (PTAS) to assess the sub jects propensity to somatize as well as the ability to identify and re port emotions. The data found no difference between subjects diagnosed with migraine syndrome and those with tension head pain in the IBQ di mensions, the TAS or in reported levels of anxiety or depression. Howe ver, chronicity of symptoms was associated with increased irritability . The clinical implications of the findings suggest that patients with head pain are psychologically distressed but often possess alexithymi c characteristics that make insightful associations difficult.