Examining mindfulness and its relation to self-differentiation and alexithymia

Published online first in 10 July 2013Research supports the association between mindfulness, emotion regulation, stress reduction, and interpersonal/relational wellness. The present study evaluated the potential effect of mindfulness on some indicators of psychological imbalance such as low self-differentiation and alexithymia. In this cross-sectional study, a sample of 168 undergraduates (72 % women) completed measures of perceived mindfulness (CAMS-R and PHLMS), self-differentiation (SIPI), and alexithymia (TAS-20). Results revealed positive correlations between the different dimensions of mindfulness and negative correlations between those dimensions, selfdifferentiation, and alexithymia. The dimensions of quality of mindfulness and acceptance were mediators in the relationship between self-differentiation and alexithymia. A nonsignificant interaction between gender and alexithymia was found. All mindfulness dimensions, but self-differentiation, contributed to explain the allocation of the non-alexithymic group. These results indicate that mindfulness seems to be a construct with great therapeutic and research potential at different levels, suggesting that some aspects of mindfulness seem to promote a better self-differentiation and prevent alexithymia

Effetti della differenziazione del sé sul benessere psicologico

Obiettivo del presente studio è stato quello di valutare il ruolo esercitato dai processi di differenziazione del sé sul benessere psicologico individuale. La ricerca ha coinvolto un campione di 230 soggetti (F = 155, M = 75) di età compresa tra i 25 e i 67 anni a cui sono stati somministrati il "Differentiation of Self Inventory Revised-It" (Skowron et al., 2004; Lampis et. al, 2017) e la "Symptom Check List-90-Revised" (Derogatis, 1994; Sarno et al., 2011). I risultati rivelano che il "taglio emotivo" e, soprattutto, la "reattività emotiva" sembrano essere le modalità più fortemente connesse alla manifestazione di sintomi psicologici