Alexithymia in juvenile primary headache sufferers: a pilot study

Starting in the 1990s, there has been accumulating evidence of alexithymic characteristics in adult patients with primary headache. Little research has been conducted, however, on the relationship between alexithymia and primary headache in developmental age. In their research on alexithymia in the formative years, the authors identified one of the most promising prospects for research, as discussed here. The aim of this study was to verify whether there is: (a) a link between tension-type headache and alexithymia in childhood and early adolescence; and (b) a correlation between alexithymia in children/preadolescents and their mothers. This study was based on an experimental group of 32 patients (26 females and 6 males, aged from 8 to 15 years, mean 11.2 ± 2.0) suffering from tension-type headache and 32 control subjects (26 females and 6 males, aged from 8 to 15 years, mean 11.8 ± 1.6). Tension-type headache was diagnosed by applying the International Headache Classification (ICHD-II, 2004). The alexithymic construct was measured using an Italian version of the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children in the case of the juvenile patients and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) for their mothers. Higher rates of alexithymia were observed in the children/preadolescents in the experimental group (EG) than in the control group; in the EG there was no significant correlation between the alexithymia rates in the children/preadolescents and in their mothers

Dimenticanza intenzionale, memorie traumatiche e psicopatologia: il contenuto emozionale degli stimoli influenza il directed forgetting?

The directed forgetting is an adaptive mechanism aimed at helping the individual to deal with psychological conflicts, anxiety and pain.The individual shows the ability to intentionally forget and to exclude from consciuosness stressful events, traumatic experiences or particularly unpleasant material. The basis of this ability has been postulated in the intervention of executive control of memory mechanisms that inhibit unwanted memories, exempting them from awareness. The aim of the present research was to investigate: a) the directed forgetting effect for verbal stimuli; b) the influence of emotional content of stimuli on the directed forgetting effect; c) the relationship between subjective disease of the participant and the directed forgetting phenomenon. Forty-one subjects with no history of specific pathologies, participated to the experiment. They were divided into two groups: half participants were randomly assigned to the condition \u201cto forget\u201d and the remaining were assigned to the condition \u201cto remember\u201d. In the present study it was possible to observe only one of the three effects typically seen in the directed forgetting procedure. Infact, data have showed a greater final recall number of words of the list 2 items compared to List 1 items in the forgetting condition. No significant data were observed for the other findings typically seen in the directed forgetting procedure. Subjects in the forget condition didn\u2019t show a deficit in the List 1 final recall compared to subjects in the remember condition (costs) and subjects in the forget conditions didn\u2019t recall more List 2 items than do individuals in the remember condition (benefits). Moreover, in the current study, the directed forgetting task would not seem to be influenced by the emotional content of words

Age, Memory Type, and the Phenomenology of Autobiographical Memory: Findings from an Italian Sample

The present research explored differences in phenomenology between two types of memories, a general self-defining memory and an earliest childhood memory. A sample of 76 Italian participants were selected and categorized into two age groups: 20-30 years and 31-40 years. The Memory Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ) was administered, taking note of latency and duration times of the narratives. Consistent with the literature, the self-defining memory differed significantly from the earliest childhood memory in terms of phenomenology, with the recency of the memory associated with more intense phenomenological experience. The self-defining memory took longer to retrieve and narrate than the earliest childhood memory. Meaningful differences also emerged between the two age groups: Participants in their 30s rated their self-defining memory as more vivid, coherent, and accessible than participants in their 20s. According to latency findings, these differences suggest an expanded period of identity consolidation for younger adults. Further applications of the MEQ should be carried out to replicate these results with other samples of young adults

Adult attachment style and alexithymia

The focus of the present study was to investigate the relationship between adult attachment behaviour and alexithymia. Adult attachment behaviour and alexithymic characteristics were assessed using questionnaire methods. In a single session, 301 University students completed an Italian version of the Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) and the Italian version of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Moderate positive correlations were found among TAS total score and several ASQ subscales such as the Discomfort with Closeness (0.35), the Relationships as Secondary (0.38) and the Need for Approval (0.41). On the other hand, TAS total score and the Confidence subscale of the ASQ showed a moderate negative correlation (-0.45). These results provide interesting cues. Possible hypothetical explanations of this association are discussed. Further longitudinal researches are needed to better investigate the relationship between the sociocultural environment, deficiencies in mother-child relationship and the ease of confidence in intimacy in adulthood. \ua9 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserve

Adult Attachment Styles and Psychological Disease: Examining the Mediating Role of Personality Traits

ABSTRACT. The aim of the present study was to examine differences in anxiety and depression related to differences in attachment models of the self and of others and whether personality traits mediate this relationship. The authors assessed attachment styles, anxiety, depression, and personality traits among 274 adult volunteers. Participants were classified into 4 attachment groups (secure, preoccupied, fearful, and dismissing\u2013avoidant) according to K. Bartholomew\u2019s (1990) model. The present authors found significant differences among attachment groups on anxiety and depressive symptoms with attachment styles involving a negative self-model showing higher scores than attachment styles characterized by a positive self-model. The authors also found that differences between attachment styles in anxiety and depression remained significant when personality factors related to attachment prototypes were entered as covariates. Results indicate that secure attachment in adults was associated with better mental health, while insecure attachment styles characterized by negative thinking about the self were associated with higher depression and anxiety scores. Our findings seem to evidence that attachment and personality are only partly overlapping and that attachment cannot be considered as redundant with personality in the explanation of psychological disease