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Alexithymia among Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.
J Clin Psychiatry. 1990 Jun; 51(6):243-7.JC

Abstract

The authors studied 227 inpatients from a large Veterans Administration Medical Center to evaluate whether alexithymia is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to assess the validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) alexithymia scale. Three groups--a carefully diagnosed PTSD group (N = 76), an alcohol abuse group (N = 76), and a general psychiatric group (N = 75)--were given a battery of psychological tests, including the MMPI, the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory, along with several cognitive measures. PTSD veterans were also evaluated on psychophysiologic indices (including a stressor) and on their subjective ratings to these indices. Results showed that alexithymia was more characteristic of PTSD patients than of the other groups. Also, alexithymia was inversely related to heart rate. Alexithymia was not significantly correlated with the subjective experience of stressors. The authors discuss the importance of the construct of alexithymia among PTSD patients and recommend the use of the alexithymia scale for these patients. The independence of this measure from the psychophysiologic condition of hyperarousal and the subjective experience of this state were also addressed.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Hyer L
Veterans Administration Medical Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30910.
Woods MG
No affiliation info available
Summers MN
No affiliation info available
Boudewyns P
No affiliation info available
Harrison WR
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdultAffective SymptomsArousalDepressive DisorderHeart RateHumansMMPIMalePsychiatric Status Rating ScalesPsychometricsSensitivity and SpecificityStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticVeterans

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

2189870

Citation

Hyer, L, et al. "Alexithymia Among Vietnam Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder." The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, vol. 51, no. 6, 1990, pp. 243-7.
Hyer L, Woods MG, Summers MN, et al. Alexithymia among Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 1990;51(6):243-7.
Hyer, L., Woods, M. G., Summers, M. N., Boudewyns, P., & Harrison, W. R. (1990). Alexithymia among Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 51(6), 243-7.
Hyer L, et al. Alexithymia Among Vietnam Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 1990;51(6):243-7. PubMed PMID: 2189870.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Alexithymia among Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. AU - Hyer,L, AU - Woods,M G, AU - Summers,M N, AU - Boudewyns,P, AU - Harrison,W R, PY - 1990/6/1/pubmed PY - 1990/6/1/medline PY - 1990/6/1/entrez SP - 243 EP - 7 JF - The Journal of clinical psychiatry JO - J Clin Psychiatry VL - 51 IS - 6 N2 - The authors studied 227 inpatients from a large Veterans Administration Medical Center to evaluate whether alexithymia is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to assess the validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) alexithymia scale. Three groups--a carefully diagnosed PTSD group (N = 76), an alcohol abuse group (N = 76), and a general psychiatric group (N = 75)--were given a battery of psychological tests, including the MMPI, the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory, along with several cognitive measures. PTSD veterans were also evaluated on psychophysiologic indices (including a stressor) and on their subjective ratings to these indices. Results showed that alexithymia was more characteristic of PTSD patients than of the other groups. Also, alexithymia was inversely related to heart rate. Alexithymia was not significantly correlated with the subjective experience of stressors. The authors discuss the importance of the construct of alexithymia among PTSD patients and recommend the use of the alexithymia scale for these patients. The independence of this measure from the psychophysiologic condition of hyperarousal and the subjective experience of this state were also addressed. SN - 0160-6689 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/2189870/Alexithymia_among_Vietnam_veterans_with_posttraumatic_stress_disorder_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -