Correlation Between Alexithymia and Suicide Attempts in Adolescents With Depressive Disorders

WANG Shuo; YANG Rong; HU Shuwen; CAO Xiaomei; ZHONG Hui

doi:10.12100/j.issn.2096-5494.223033

Psychological Communications >

2023 , Vol. 6 >Issue 4: 212 - 218

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12100/j.issn.2096-5494.223033

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Correlation Between Alexithymia and Suicide Attempts in Adolescents With Depressive Disorders

WANG Shuo ,
YANG Rong ,
HU Shuwen ,
CAO Xiaomei ,
ZHONG Hui

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¹School of Mental Health and Psychological Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230000, China;
²Department of Children and Adolescents, Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230000, China;
³Department of Children and Adolescents, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei 230000, China;
⁴Department of Children and Adolescents, Hefei Fourth People’s Hospital, Hefei 230000, China

^*ZHONG Hui, 313956777@qq.com

Online published: 2024-06-20

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Abstract

Objective: To explore the differences in alexithymia between adolescent patients with depressive disorders who have attempted suicide and those who have not, and its correlation with the severity of depression.
Methods: From 2019 to 2021, 40 adolescents with depressive disorders who had suicide attempts (suicide attempt group), 68 adolescents with depressive disorders who had no suicide attempts (non-suicide attempt group), and 23 healthy controls matched by gender, age, and years of education (healthy control group) were included in the study. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Inventory (HAMD-17), the 26-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-26), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) were used to assess the three groups.
Results: Statistically significant differences were found among the suicide attempt group, the non-suicide attempt group, and the healthy control group in TAS-26 total score and some factor scores (ability to describe emotions, ability to recognize and differentiate emotions and bodily sensations, and extraversion thinking). Both groups of depressive disorder participants scored higher than the control group on TAS-26 total scores and some factor scores (ability to describe emotions, ability to recognize and differentiate emotions and bodily sensations, and extraversion thinking). Additionally, the suicide attempt group scored higher on extraversion thinking compared to the non-suicide attempt group. And there was no significant difference in childhood trauma among the three groups. In the suicide attempt group, there was a significant positive correlation between extraversion thinking scores in the TAS-26 and emotional neglect subscale scores in the CTQ (r=0.361, p=0.028). Similarly, in the non-suicide attempt group, adolescent extraversion thinking scores were also positively correlated with emotional neglect subscale scores in the CTQ (r=0.260, p=0.021).
Conclusion: Alexithymia disorders may increase the risk of suicide among adolescents with depressive disorders, and childhood trauma may not have a sufficiently clear effect on predicting suicide attempts in adolescents with depressive disorders.

Key words： suicide attempt; depressive disorder; alexithymia; childhood trauma; adolescent

Cite this article

WANG Shuo , YANG Rong , HU Shuwen , CAO Xiaomei , ZHONG Hui . Correlation Between Alexithymia and Suicide Attempts in Adolescents With Depressive Disorders[J]. Psychological Communications, 2023 , 6(4) : 212 -218 . DOI: 10.12100/j.issn.2096-5494.223033

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