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Original Article On the relationship between alexithymia and depression and anxiety in psychiatric patients

Introduction: Alexithymia means disability in expressing emotions and is reported in a wide range of psychiatric and medical disorders. This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship of alexithymia with depression and anxiety in psychiatric patients. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive correlational study, 81 patients (62 females and 19 males) which were referred to a governmental psychiatric clinic in Isfahan city, center of Iran in 2008, were selected by available sampling method and assessed by Toronto Alexithymia and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scales. Data were analyzed by descriptive indices, Pearson ' s correlation coefficient and regression analyses. Results: Pearson ' s correlation coefficient showed that two alexithymia's dimensions including difficulty in identifying feelings (P=0.001) and difficulty in describing feelings (P=0.014) had significant direct correlation with depression and anxiety, while the other dimension (externally-oriented thinking) was not correlated with depression and anxiety (P=0.96). Regression analysis showed that alexithymia's dimensions could not predict variations of depression and anxiety.