Alexithymia, emotion, and somatic complaints

Alexithymia, by definition, involves difficulties in identifying and descri bing emotions and has been assumed to be associated with somatization (i.e. , a tendency to express psychological distress in somatic rather than emoti onal form). Empirical research so far, however, has produced no convincing evidence that alexithymia is more associated with somatic complaints than w ith emotional complaints or that alexithymia correlates with somatic compla ints when negative affect is controlled for. In the present study, alexithy mia, as measured by the TAS-20, showed no association with somatic complain ts in a community sample of 137 individuals when trait anxiety and depressi on were controlled. Alexithymia did correlate negatively with positive affe ct, and positively with negative affect. The former association, however, w as much more robust, whereas the latter association was found mainly on sub jective trait measures of negative affect (as distinct from state measures and more objective trait measures derived from daily recordings during an 8 -week period). It is suggested that the association between alexithymia and lack of positive affect deserves more attention in future research.