Key Problems in the Studies of Alexithymia and Its Relationship with Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies, Flexibility of Coping with stress and Emotional Disorders

Abstract

The article discusses the ideas concerning the multidimensionality of the alexithymia construct and the problems of alexithymia studies. The relationship of various alexithymic traits with cognitive emotion regulation (ER), coping flexibility (CF) and psycho-emotional symptomatology was studied. The participants (N=109, 19—34 years old, 82.6% women) filled out the following questionnaires: the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Flexibility of Coping with Stress Questionnaire, and the Four-Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire for assessing distress, depression, anxiety, and somatization. Young people with type III alexithymia and those with no alexithymia are characterized by favorable cognitive ER and CF. The opposite tendency is characteristic for individuals with alexithymia type I and II. High emotional arousability and low cognitive emotional processing ability determine low adaptiveness and vulnerability to emotional disorders. Low cognitive awareness of emotions contributes to the diminishing use of adaptive cognitive ER strategies and leads to a decrease in CF. Low emotional arousability contributes to a high CF and, along with concrete thinking, reduces the use of maladaptive ER strategies.