Biomedical subjects

M Hryvniak

Publications and source records attributed to M Hryvniak.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1990

The relationship between alexithymia and abnormal illness behavior.

The relationship between abnormal illness behavior, measured by the illness Behavior Questionnaire and alexithymia, measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, was studied in four cohorts of subjects. The two measures overlap in that the more alexithymic subjects endorsed more disease conviction, hypochondriacal concern, affective inhibition, affective disturbance, and irritability. Denial was not related to alexithymia, which supports the construct validity of alexithymia. Regression models developed for the four cohorts that consisted of psychiatric outpatients, psychiatric inpatients, medically ill patients and controls differed to suggest that alexithymia state phenomena interact with trait characteristics.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Secondary alexithymia: an empirical validation.

Alexithymia is described as both a primary personality trait and a secondary state reaction to medical illness. To empirically study secondary alexithymia, a series of medically ill patients seen in psychiatric consultation were compared with a healthy control population. Measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), the medically ill were more alexithymic than the healthy population. Alexithymia was best predicted by both depressed mood and lowered quality of life, rather than by the categorical ranking of the severity of the medical illness. Alexithymia did appear to be separate from self-reported mood. These data support the concept of secondary alexithymia.

Activities of Daily Living↗