Brief Communication A Controlled Study of Alexithymia in Adolescent Patients With Persistent Somatoform Pain Disorder

Alexithymia, which literally means “no words for feel-ings ” (1), is suggested by Taylor “to be a heuristically useful construct for exploring the role of personality and emo-tions in the pathogenesis of certain somatic illnesses and dis-eases ” (2, p 134) Similarly, Mai’s review highlights the relevance of alexithymia in the etiology of somatoform disor-ders, which are characterized by a relative absence of physical cause and a presumed psychological cause (3). Further studies show a strong association between somatic complaints and manifestations of psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety (4,5). Alexithymia may reflect deficits in emotional regulation and cognitive processing (6). These deficits are attributed to an arrest in affect development during early childhood (7). Because no previous studies explore the rates of alexithymia, Can J Psychiatry, Vol 51, No 7, June 2006468