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Geoffrey Ird - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Alexithymia and autism diagnostic assessments evidence from twins at genetic risk of autism and adults with anorexia nervosa
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2020Co-Authors: Caroline Catmu, Geoffrey Ird, Hannah Hobso, Heathe Westwood, Jane Rebecca Conway, Fiona Mcewe, Emma ColveAbstract:Abstract Background Alexithymia, a difficulty identifying and communicating one’s own emotions, affects socio-emotional processes, such as emotion recognition and empathy. Co-occurring Alexithymia is prevalent in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and underlies some socio-emotional difficulties usually attributed to autism. Socio-emotional abilities are examined during behavioural diagnostic assessments of autism, yet the effect of Alexithymia on these assessments is not known. This study aimed to examine the associations between Alexithymia and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) assessment scores. Method Two previously collected samples of ADOS assessments were used to examine the relationship between Alexithymia and ADOS scores. Participants included 96 women with anorexia, and 147 adolescents who were either high in autistic symptoms, or whose twin had high autistic symptoms. We examined 1) the impact of Alexithymia on meeting the criteria for autism/ASD, 2) correlations between Alexithymia and ADOS subscales, and 3) whether Alexithymia predicted scores on specific ADOS items, selected a priori based on existing literature. Results In the adolescent group, parent-reported (but not self-reported) Alexithymia correlated with both ADOS sub-scales, predicted scores on ADOS items, and predicted meeting clinical cut-offs for an ASD/autism diagnosis. Few associations were observed in the anorexic sample between self-reported Alexithymia and ADOS subscale and item scores, but the presence of Alexithymia predicted the likelihood of meeting diagnostic criteria for autism/ASD in this sample. Conclusions Alexithymia does show relationships with ADOS assessment scores. We discuss potential clinical and research implications, particularly in studies of autism where the ADOS is often the only diagnostic measure used.
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Alexithymia and autism diagnostic assessments evidence from twins at genetic risk of autism and adults with anorexia nervosa
Post-Print, 2020Co-Authors: Caroline Catmu, Geoffrey Ird, Hannah Hobso, Heathe Westwood, Jane Rebecca Conway, Fiona Mcewe, Emma ColveAbstract:Alexithymia, a difficulty identifying and communicating one's own emotions, affects socio-emotional processes, such as emotion recognition and empathy. Co-occurring Alexithymia is prevalent in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and underlies some socio-emotional difficulties usually attributed to autism. Socio-emotional abilities are examined during behavioural diagnostic assessments of autism, yet the effect of Alexithymia on these assessments is not known. This study aimed to examine the associations between Alexithymia and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) assessment scores.
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the psychophysiological mechanisms of Alexithymia in autism spectrum disorder
Autism, 2018Co-Authors: Sebastia Gaigg, Geoffrey Ird, Anna S F CornellAbstract:Accumulating evidence indicates that co-occurring Alexithymia underlies several facets of the social-emotional difficulties common in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The mechanisms involved, however, remain poorly understood because measuring Alexithymia relies heavily on self-report. To address this issue, carefully matched groups of individuals with ASD and comparison participants rated 70 emotion-inducing pictures on subjectively experienced arousal while skin conductance responses were monitored objectively. The results demonstrated reliable correlations between these subjective and objective measures, and in both groups around 25% of individual differences in this correlation (i.e. in emotion-relevant interoception) were accounted for by self-reported Alexithymia. In the context of the wider literature, this suggests that Alexithymia involves a disruption in how physiological arousal modulates the subjective experience of feelings in those with and without a diagnosis of ASD. Since mindfulness based therapies foster greater awareness of thoughts, feelings and bodily sensations, the findings also have implications for how the symptoms and consequences of Alexithymia (e.g., anxiety) might be ameliorated.
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Alexithymia is associated with a multidomain multidimensional failure of interoception evidence from novel tests
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2017Co-Authors: Jennife Murphy, Caroline Catmu, Geoffrey IrdAbstract:Interoception, the perception of the body's internal state, contributes to numerous aspects of higher-order cognition. Several theories suggest a causal role for atypical interoception in specific psychiatric disorders, including a recent claim that atypical interoception represents a transdiagnostic impairment across disorders characterized by reduced perception of one's own emotion (Alexithymia). Such theories are supported predominantly by evidence from only one interoceptive domain (cardiac); however, evidence of domain-specific interoceptive ability highlights the need to assess interoception in noncardiac domains. Using novel interoceptive tasks, we demonstrate that individuals high in alexithymic traits show a reduced propensity to utilize interoceptive cues to gauge respiratory output (Experiment 1), reduced accuracy on tasks of muscular effort (Experiment 2), and taste sensitivity (Experiment 3), unrelated to any co-occurring autism, depression, or anxiety. Results suggest that Alexithymia reflects a multidomain, multidimensional failure of interoception, which is consistent with theories suggesting that atypical interoception may underpin both symptom commonalities between psychiatric disorders and heterogeneity within disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Alexithymia a general deficit of interoception
Royal Society Open Science, 2016Co-Authors: Rebecca Ewe, Richard J Cook, Geoffrey IrdAbstract:Alexithymia is a sub-clinical construct, traditionally characterized by difficulties identifying and describing one's own emotions. Despite the clear need for interoception (interpreting physical signals from the body) when identifying one's own emotions, little research has focused on the selectivity of this impairment. While it was originally assumed that the interoceptive deficit in Alexithymia is specific to emotion, recent evidence suggests that Alexithymia may also be associated with difficulties perceiving some non-affective interoceptive signals, such as one's heart rate. It is therefore possible that the impairment experienced by those with Alexithymia is common to all aspects of interoception, such as interpreting signals of hunger, arousal, proprioception, tiredness and temperature. In order to determine whether Alexithymia is associated with selectively impaired affective interoception, or general interoceptive impairment, we investigated the association between Alexithymia and self-reported non-affective interoceptive ability, and the extent to which individuals perceive similarity between affective and non-affective states (both measured using questionnaires developed for the purpose of the current study), in both typical individuals (n = 105 (89 female), mean age = 27.5 years) and individuals reporting a diagnosis of a psychiatric condition (n = 103 (83 female), mean age = 31.3 years). Findings indicated that Alexithymia was associated with poor non-affective interoception and increased perceived similarity between affective and non-affective states, in both the typical and clinical populations. We therefore suggest that rather than being specifically associated with affective impairment, Alexithymia is better characterized by a general failure of interoception.
Graeme J Taylo - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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taxometric analysis of the toronto structured interview for Alexithymia further evidence that Alexithymia is a dimensional construct
Assessment, 2019Co-Authors: Kateryna V Keefe, Graeme J Taylo, James D A Parke, Michael R AgbyAbstract:Alexithymia is a clinically relevant personality construct characterized by difficulties identifying and describing feelings, externally oriented thinking, and impoverished imaginal processes. Previous taxometric investigations provided evidence that Alexithymia is best conceptualized as a continuous dimension rather than a discrete type, at least when assessed with the self-report 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The aim of the current study was to test the categorical versus dimensional structure of Alexithymia using the recently developed Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia. Three nonredundant taxometric procedures (MAXCOV, MAMBAC, and L-Mode) were performed on the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia subscale scores from a multinational sample of 842 adults. All taxometric procedures produced unambiguously dimensional solutions, providing further evidence that the core Alexithymia features are continuously distributed in the population. Discussion focuses on the theoretical, assessm...
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what s in the name Alexithymia a commentary on affective agnosia expansion of the Alexithymia construct and a new opportunity to integrate and extend freud s legacy
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2016Co-Authors: Graeme J Taylo, Michael R Agby, James D A ParkeAbstract:The recent proposal of a new type of agnosia termed 'affective agnosia' extends Freud's legacy and captures the concept of not knowing one's own emotions. This concept links well with the theory of levels of emotional awareness and maps onto a hierarchical model of neural substrates of emotional experience, but does not encompass the pensee operatoire component of the Alexithymia construct. Moreover, identifying agnosia and anomia subtypes, which connotes a categorical conceptualization of Alexithymia, is inconsistent with the dimensional nature of the construct. We describe a more widely accepted definition of Alexithymia, and argue that although aptly descriptive, the concept of affective agnosia does not advance the theory, measurement, and treatment of Alexithymia. A review of Alexithymia literature indicates that impairment in the mental representation of emotions has been a central aspect of Alexithymia theory since the concept was introduced, and guided the development of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and other measures of the construct. Moreover, techniques to enhance mentalization of emotions have been used by psychotherapists for several decades.
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latent structure of the Alexithymia construct a taxometric investigation
Psychological Assessment, 2008Co-Authors: James D A Parke, Kateryna V Keefe, Graeme J Taylo, Michael R AgbyAbstract:Despite a wealth of research on the validity of Alexithymia and its association with a number of common medical and psychiatric disorders, the fundamental question of whether Alexithymia is best conceptualized as a dimensional or categorical construct remains unresolved. In the current investigation, taxometric analysis is used to examine the nature of the latent structure of Alexithymia. Several nonredundant taxometric procedures were performed with item sets from the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (R. M. Bagby, J. D. A. Parker, & G. J. Taylor, 1994) as indicators. These procedures were applied separately in large community (n = 1,933) and undergraduate (n = 1,948) samples and in a smaller sample of psychiatric outpatients (n = 302). The results across various taxometric procedures and the different samples provide strong support that Alexithymia is a dimensional construct. Some theoretical implications of these findings for research on the Alexithymia construct are discussed.
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new trends in Alexithymia research
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 2004Co-Authors: Graeme J Taylo, Michael R AgbyAbstract:Research investigating the Alexithymia construct is advancing rapidly and has broadened considerably in recent years as a result of interdisciplinary efforts, new methodologies, and experimental techniques. New developments in the field include a shift from measurement-based validational studies to experimental investigations, which explore the relation between Alexithymia and various aspects of emotional processing; the use of functional brain imaging techniques to explore neural activity associated with Alexithymia; and experimental studies that measure multiple indices of physiological response to standardized emotion-inducing stimuli. Developmental research and attachment studies are providing ways for investigating potential etiological sources of the construct; and experimental approaches are being used to explore relations between Alexithymia and other health-related personality constructs. In addition, longitudinal and treatment studies are clarifying the relation between Alexithymia and psychopathology and the extent to which Alexithymia predicts treatment outcome. Investigators need to embrace the new methods and techniques for the field of research to further increase understanding of the Alexithymia construct and its association with physical and mental illness.
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an evaluation of the absolute and relative stability of Alexithymia in patients with major depression
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 2001Co-Authors: Olivie Lumine, Michael R Agby, Graeme J TayloAbstract:Background: Previous studies demonstrating an association between Alexithymia and depression have led to the proposal that Alexithymia may be a state-dependent phenomenon rather tha
Michael R Agby - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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taxometric analysis of the toronto structured interview for Alexithymia further evidence that Alexithymia is a dimensional construct
Assessment, 2019Co-Authors: Kateryna V Keefe, Graeme J Taylo, James D A Parke, Michael R AgbyAbstract:Alexithymia is a clinically relevant personality construct characterized by difficulties identifying and describing feelings, externally oriented thinking, and impoverished imaginal processes. Previous taxometric investigations provided evidence that Alexithymia is best conceptualized as a continuous dimension rather than a discrete type, at least when assessed with the self-report 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The aim of the current study was to test the categorical versus dimensional structure of Alexithymia using the recently developed Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia. Three nonredundant taxometric procedures (MAXCOV, MAMBAC, and L-Mode) were performed on the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia subscale scores from a multinational sample of 842 adults. All taxometric procedures produced unambiguously dimensional solutions, providing further evidence that the core Alexithymia features are continuously distributed in the population. Discussion focuses on the theoretical, assessm...
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what s in the name Alexithymia a commentary on affective agnosia expansion of the Alexithymia construct and a new opportunity to integrate and extend freud s legacy
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2016Co-Authors: Graeme J Taylo, Michael R Agby, James D A ParkeAbstract:The recent proposal of a new type of agnosia termed 'affective agnosia' extends Freud's legacy and captures the concept of not knowing one's own emotions. This concept links well with the theory of levels of emotional awareness and maps onto a hierarchical model of neural substrates of emotional experience, but does not encompass the pensee operatoire component of the Alexithymia construct. Moreover, identifying agnosia and anomia subtypes, which connotes a categorical conceptualization of Alexithymia, is inconsistent with the dimensional nature of the construct. We describe a more widely accepted definition of Alexithymia, and argue that although aptly descriptive, the concept of affective agnosia does not advance the theory, measurement, and treatment of Alexithymia. A review of Alexithymia literature indicates that impairment in the mental representation of emotions has been a central aspect of Alexithymia theory since the concept was introduced, and guided the development of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and other measures of the construct. Moreover, techniques to enhance mentalization of emotions have been used by psychotherapists for several decades.
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latent structure of the Alexithymia construct a taxometric investigation
Psychological Assessment, 2008Co-Authors: James D A Parke, Kateryna V Keefe, Graeme J Taylo, Michael R AgbyAbstract:Despite a wealth of research on the validity of Alexithymia and its association with a number of common medical and psychiatric disorders, the fundamental question of whether Alexithymia is best conceptualized as a dimensional or categorical construct remains unresolved. In the current investigation, taxometric analysis is used to examine the nature of the latent structure of Alexithymia. Several nonredundant taxometric procedures were performed with item sets from the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (R. M. Bagby, J. D. A. Parker, & G. J. Taylor, 1994) as indicators. These procedures were applied separately in large community (n = 1,933) and undergraduate (n = 1,948) samples and in a smaller sample of psychiatric outpatients (n = 302). The results across various taxometric procedures and the different samples provide strong support that Alexithymia is a dimensional construct. Some theoretical implications of these findings for research on the Alexithymia construct are discussed.
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new trends in Alexithymia research
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 2004Co-Authors: Graeme J Taylo, Michael R AgbyAbstract:Research investigating the Alexithymia construct is advancing rapidly and has broadened considerably in recent years as a result of interdisciplinary efforts, new methodologies, and experimental techniques. New developments in the field include a shift from measurement-based validational studies to experimental investigations, which explore the relation between Alexithymia and various aspects of emotional processing; the use of functional brain imaging techniques to explore neural activity associated with Alexithymia; and experimental studies that measure multiple indices of physiological response to standardized emotion-inducing stimuli. Developmental research and attachment studies are providing ways for investigating potential etiological sources of the construct; and experimental approaches are being used to explore relations between Alexithymia and other health-related personality constructs. In addition, longitudinal and treatment studies are clarifying the relation between Alexithymia and psychopathology and the extent to which Alexithymia predicts treatment outcome. Investigators need to embrace the new methods and techniques for the field of research to further increase understanding of the Alexithymia construct and its association with physical and mental illness.
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an evaluation of the absolute and relative stability of Alexithymia in patients with major depression
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 2001Co-Authors: Olivie Lumine, Michael R Agby, Graeme J TayloAbstract:Background: Previous studies demonstrating an association between Alexithymia and depression have led to the proposal that Alexithymia may be a state-dependent phenomenon rather tha
James D A Parke - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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taxometric analysis of the toronto structured interview for Alexithymia further evidence that Alexithymia is a dimensional construct
Assessment, 2019Co-Authors: Kateryna V Keefe, Graeme J Taylo, James D A Parke, Michael R AgbyAbstract:Alexithymia is a clinically relevant personality construct characterized by difficulties identifying and describing feelings, externally oriented thinking, and impoverished imaginal processes. Previous taxometric investigations provided evidence that Alexithymia is best conceptualized as a continuous dimension rather than a discrete type, at least when assessed with the self-report 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The aim of the current study was to test the categorical versus dimensional structure of Alexithymia using the recently developed Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia. Three nonredundant taxometric procedures (MAXCOV, MAMBAC, and L-Mode) were performed on the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia subscale scores from a multinational sample of 842 adults. All taxometric procedures produced unambiguously dimensional solutions, providing further evidence that the core Alexithymia features are continuously distributed in the population. Discussion focuses on the theoretical, assessm...
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what s in the name Alexithymia a commentary on affective agnosia expansion of the Alexithymia construct and a new opportunity to integrate and extend freud s legacy
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 2016Co-Authors: Graeme J Taylo, Michael R Agby, James D A ParkeAbstract:The recent proposal of a new type of agnosia termed 'affective agnosia' extends Freud's legacy and captures the concept of not knowing one's own emotions. This concept links well with the theory of levels of emotional awareness and maps onto a hierarchical model of neural substrates of emotional experience, but does not encompass the pensee operatoire component of the Alexithymia construct. Moreover, identifying agnosia and anomia subtypes, which connotes a categorical conceptualization of Alexithymia, is inconsistent with the dimensional nature of the construct. We describe a more widely accepted definition of Alexithymia, and argue that although aptly descriptive, the concept of affective agnosia does not advance the theory, measurement, and treatment of Alexithymia. A review of Alexithymia literature indicates that impairment in the mental representation of emotions has been a central aspect of Alexithymia theory since the concept was introduced, and guided the development of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and other measures of the construct. Moreover, techniques to enhance mentalization of emotions have been used by psychotherapists for several decades.
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Alexithymia and satisfaction in intimate relationships
Personality and Individual Differences, 2009Co-Authors: Terry P Humphreys, Laura M Wood, James D A ParkeAbstract:The present study examined the relationship between Alexithymia and satisfaction in intimate relationships. One hundred and fifty-eight undergraduate students taking a first year psychology course completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia scale (TAS-20) and two measures of relationship satisfaction: overall satisfaction with the relationship and sexual satisfaction in the relationship. Path analysis revealed a moderate negative relationship between Alexithymia and both relationship satisfaction variables. These results support previous studies demonstrating a strong link between Alexithymia and a host of interpersonal problems.
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latent structure of the Alexithymia construct a taxometric investigation
Psychological Assessment, 2008Co-Authors: James D A Parke, Kateryna V Keefe, Graeme J Taylo, Michael R AgbyAbstract:Despite a wealth of research on the validity of Alexithymia and its association with a number of common medical and psychiatric disorders, the fundamental question of whether Alexithymia is best conceptualized as a dimensional or categorical construct remains unresolved. In the current investigation, taxometric analysis is used to examine the nature of the latent structure of Alexithymia. Several nonredundant taxometric procedures were performed with item sets from the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (R. M. Bagby, J. D. A. Parker, & G. J. Taylor, 1994) as indicators. These procedures were applied separately in large community (n = 1,933) and undergraduate (n = 1,948) samples and in a smaller sample of psychiatric outpatients (n = 302). The results across various taxometric procedures and the different samples provide strong support that Alexithymia is a dimensional construct. Some theoretical implications of these findings for research on the Alexithymia construct are discussed.
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the relationship between emotional intelligence and Alexithymia
Personality and Individual Differences, 2001Co-Authors: James D A Parke, Graeme J Taylo, Michael R AgbyAbstract:In this study, the empirical association between the apparently similar constructs of emotional intelligence and Alexithymia was examined using latent variable analysis in a large community sample of adults (N=734). The Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) were used to assess Alexithymia and emotional intelligence. Results revealed that although the constructs are independent, they overlap considerably and are strongly and inversely related.
Matti Joukamaa - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Alexithymia and somatization in general population
Psychosomatic Medicine, 2008Co-Authors: Aino K Mattila, Antti Jula, Jouko K Salmine, Erkki Kronholm, Annamaija Koivisto, Riittaliisa Mielone, Matti JoukamaaAbstract:OBJECTIVE Even though the association between Alexithymia and somatization seems plausible according to several studies with selected populations, it has not been verified in carefully controlled and nationally representative population studies. We conducted such a study to find out whether Alexithymia is associated with somatization at population level. METHODS This study was a part of the Finnish Health 2000 Study. The nationally representative sample comprised 5129 subjects aged 30 to 97 years. Alexithymia was measured with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and somatic symptom reporting with the 12-item somatization scale derived from the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. Sociodemographic and health-related variables, including depressive and anxiety disorders, and physician verified somatic diagnoses, were treated as confounders in multivariate analyses. RESULTS Alexithymia was associated with somatization independently of somatic diseases, depression and anxiety and confounding sociodemographic variables. The TAS-20 factor scale "Difficulties Identifying Feelings" was the strongest common denominator between Alexithymia and somatization. CONCLUSIONS This was the first time the independent association between Alexithymia and somatization was established in a large, nationally representative nonclinical sample of both young and old adults with and without mental disorders and somatic diseases.
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age is strongly associated with Alexithymia in the general population
Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2006Co-Authors: Aino K Mattila, Jouko K Salmine, Tapio Nummi, Matti JoukamaaAbstract:Abstract Objective We studied the prevalence of Alexithymia, its distribution in different age groups in a wide age range, its association with sociodemographic and health-related variables, and its co-occurrence with depression. Methods The study forms part of the Health 2000 Study. The original sample comprised 8028 subjects representing the general adult population of Finland. Alexithymia was measured with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and depression was measured with the 21-item Beck Depression Inventory. Altogether, 5454 participants filled in TAS-20 in their mother tongue. Results The prevalence of Alexithymia was 9.9%. Men (11.9%) were more commonly alexithymic than women (8.1%). Alexithymia was associated with male gender, increasing age, low educational level, poor perceived health, and depression. Conclusions The findings were in line with earlier population studies. For the first time, it was possible to analyze the prevalence of Alexithymia in a wide age range (30–97 years). International comparative studies are needed.
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prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of Alexithymia in a population sample of young adults
Comprehensive Psychiatry, 2001Co-Authors: Pirkko Kokkone, Juha T Karvone, Juha Veijola, Kristia Laksy, Jari Jokelaine, Marjoriitta Jarveli, Matti JoukamaaAbstract:We examined the prevalence of Alexithymia and its associations with sociodemographic factors in a population cohort. The study forms part of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort. The original material consisted of all 12,058 live-born children in the provinces of Lapland and Oulu in Finland with an expected delivery date during 1966. The material represents 96% of all births in the region. In 1997, a 31-year follow-up study was conducted on a part of the initial sample. The 20-item version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was given to 5,993 subjects; 84% returned the questionnaire properly answered. It is known that Alexithymia is associated with psychological distress. This was measured with the 25-item version of the Hopkins Symptom Check List (HSCL-25). The prevalence of Alexithymia (TAS-20 score > 60) was 9.4% in male and 5.2% in female subjects. Alexithymia was associated with poor education and low income level and it was more common among unmarried subjects. After adjusting for psychological distress, these associations remained statistically significant. The prevalence of Alexithymia was higher in men than in women and Alexithymia was associated with poor social situation. As far as we know, this was the first study to assess the prevalence of Alexithymia and its associations with sociodemographic factors in a large and representative cohort sample, adjusted for psychological distress.
