ALEXITHYMIA AND INDUCED MOODS IN ALCOHOL-DEPENDENT MALES

37 male alcoholics were divided into alexithymic, borderline, and nona lexithymic groups that underwent musical mood inductions that included shifts in the valence of classical musical selections to produce cont rast effects: (a) from positive to negative to positive, and (b) from negative to positive to negative. At baseline, the alexithymic group w as higher on negative affect than the other two groups, but the alexit hymic and nonalexithymic groups did not differ on positive affect. Alt hough all inductions produced negative changes in affect, the six kind s of inductions were ordered as theoretically predicted in terms of th e one expected to produce the least (i.e. positive music, double shift ) to the most (i.e. negative music, double shift) negative change in a ffect from baseline, when positive affect was the dependent variable. Larger changes in negative affect from baseline were induced in the al exithymic than the other groups, when magnitude but not direction of c hange was measured. The results support the utility of using shifts am ong stimuli of positive and negative emotional. valence to create indu ctions of different intensities. They also call into question the view that alexithymics are unable to recognize and express emotions, regar dless of their valence. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights rese rved.