Alexithymia, Psychopathology and Alcohol Misuse in Adolescence: A Population Based Study on 3556 Teenagers

• 作者: Elena Colombo Irene Facca Lorenza Svanellini Michela Gatta Sami Schiff Sara Montagnese
• 来源期刊: 神经系统科学与医药(英文)
• 学科: 医学
• 关键词: ALEXITHYMIA ALCOHOL ADOLESCENCE PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
• 年，卷（期）: 2014,（1）
• 页码范围: 60-71
• 页数: 12页
• 分类号: R5

摘要

Objectives: To analyze the association between alexithymia and alcohol intake during adolescence, also in relation to psychopathology, in order to identify psychological risk factors for alcohol misuse. Method: 3556 students [mean age (range) 14.5 years (11-18)] were recruited in the Padua area. Each was administered a set of three questionnaires: the Toronto Alexithymia Scale for children (TAS-20) to measure alexithymia, the Questionnaire Adolescent Saturday evening (QAS) to estimate of alcohol intake, and the Youth Self-Report (YSR 11-18) to value psychopathology. Results: Externalizing problems appeared to increase with age and with the amount of alcohol consumed, unlike internalizing problems. The prevalence of alexithymia was 18%, decreasing with age, and it was not associated with alcohol consumption, and used except in younger subjects (≤13), for whom a positive correlation was observed between alexithymia, internalizing problems and alcohol intake. Conclusions: Younger adolescents are more psycho-emotionally vulnerable (internalizing problems and alexithymia) and at a greater risk of alcohol misuse.