Alexithymia and its influence on perceived social support, stress, and help-seeking attitudes in men undergoing radical prostatectomy.

BACKGROUND

Men undergoing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer often exhibit reluctance to seek professional psychological help. Emerging evidence suggests that alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by difficulties in identifying and expressing emotions-may contribute to this reluctance by impairing emotional processing and interpersonal functioning. However, the relationships among alexithymia, perceived social support, perceived stress, and help-seeking attitudes remain insufficiently explored in this population. This study aims to examine the influence of alexithymia on these key psychosocial factors in men with prostate cancer.

METHODS

A total of 430 men who had undergone radical prostatectomy, with a mean age of 69.92 ± 4.71 years, were recruited for the study. Participants completed a series of standardized questionnaires, including a demographic survey, the Normative Male Alexithymia Scale-Brief Form, the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form.

RESULTS

Higher levels of alexithymia were significantly associated with lower perceived social support and more negative attitudes toward seeking psychological help. Alexithymia was also positively correlated with higher levels of perceived stress. Furthermore, perceived social support and perceived stress were identified as statistically significant mediators in the relationship between alexithymia and help-seeking attitudes.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the psychological impact of alexithymia on perceived social support, stress levels, and attitudes toward seeking psychological help among men recovering from prostate cancer surgery. The findings underscore the importance of addressing emotional processing difficulties in the development of interventions aimed at improving psychological adjustment and promoting mental health service utilization in this population.