Relations between anxiety sensitivity and dimensions of alexithymia in a young adult sample

This study was conducted to assess the relations between anxiety sensitivit y (AS) and dimensions of alexithymia in a nonclinical sample. We also sough t to determine whether these relations persist after controlling for trait anxiety levels and panic attack history, and after controlling for item red undancy between the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). A sample of 238 undergraduate students complet ed the AST, the TAS-20, and measures of trait anxiety and panic. A group of high AS participants (n=36) was found to have a significantly higher TAS-2 0 total score than a group of low AS participants (n=41), both before and a fter conceptually redundant TAS20 items were removed. ASI scores were found to be significantly positively correlated with scores on the two TAS-20 su bscales suspected of sharing a functional relation with AS (i.e., difficult y identifying emotions; difficulty describing emotions), whereas ASI scores were not significantly correlated with scores on the TAS-20 subscale belie ved to be functionally unrelated to AS (i.e., external-oriented thinking). This pattern of correlations between ASI scores and alexithymia dimensions persisted following the removal of conceptually redundant TAS-20 items, sug gesting that the relation between AS and alexithymia is not merely an artif act of item redundancy. ASI scores remained significantly correlated with s cores on the TAS-20's difficulty identifying emotions subscale, and margina lly correlated with scores on the TAS-20's difficulty describing emotions s ubscale, after accounting for the influences of trait anxiety and panic his tory. The results also revealed that individuals who both experience freque nt anxiety and who greatly fear their anxiety symptoms report the greatest difficulties identifying and describing emotional states. Implications for understanding the alexithymia construct, as well as potential clinical impl ications of the findings, are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.