Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, University of Bologna, Italy.
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2013;9:185-93. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S34822. Epub 2013 Feb 18.
The connections between eating disorders (EDs) and alexithymia have not been fully clarified. This study aims to define alexithymia's connections with shame, trauma, dissociation, and body image disorders.
We administered the Dissociative Experience Scale-II, Trauma Symptom Inventory, Experience of Shame Scale, Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, and Body Uneasiness Test questionnaires to 143 ED subjects. Extensive statistical analyses were performed.
The subjects showed higher scores on alexithymia, shame, dissociation, and traumatic feelings scales than the nonclinical population. These aspects are linked with each other in a statistically significant way. Partial correlations highlighted that feelings of shame are correlated to body dissatisfaction, irrespective of trauma or depressed mood. Multiple regression analysis demonstrates that shame (anorexic patients) and perceived traumatic conditions (bulimic and ED not otherwise specified) are associated with adverse image disorders.
Shame seems to hold a central role in the perception of an adverse self-image. Alexithymia may be interpreted as being a consequence of previous unelaborated traumatic experiences and feelings of shame, and it could therefore be conceptualized as a maladaptive-reactive construct.
进食障碍（ED）与述情障碍之间的联系尚未完全阐明。本研究旨在确定述情障碍与羞耻感、创伤、分离和身体意象障碍之间的关系。
我们对 143 名 ED 患者进行了分离体验量表 II、创伤症状量表、羞耻感量表、多伦多述情障碍量表 20 项和身体不适测试问卷的评估。进行了广泛的统计分析。
与非临床人群相比，研究对象在述情障碍、羞耻感、分离和创伤感受量表上的得分更高。这些方面以统计学上显著的方式相互关联。偏相关分析表明，羞耻感与身体不满有关，与创伤或抑郁情绪无关。多元回归分析表明，羞耻感（厌食症患者）和感知到的创伤状况（贪食症和未特指的 ED）与不良的身体意象障碍有关。
羞耻感似乎在对不良自我形象的感知中起着核心作用。述情障碍可以被解释为是未解决的创伤经历和羞耻感的后果，因此可以将其概念化为一种适应不良的反应性结构。
