The stability of alexithymia during work in a high-stress environment: A prospective study of Swedish peacekeepers serving in Kosovo.

Summary, in English

Larsson, M. R., Bäckström, M., Michel, P.-O. & Lundh, L.-G. (2010). The stability of alexithymia during work in a high-stress environment: A prospective study of Swedish peacekeepers serving in Kosovo. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. We applied a prospective design to reinvestigate the issue whether the sub-domains of alexithymia could be considered stable traits or distress-related states. Assessments of alexithymia and subjective distress were conducted before deployment to Kosovo in a sample of male peacekeepers. A second assessment was conducted approximately six months later during the final phase of service. The results showed evidence of moderate to high relative stability in all alexithymic sub-domains. It was also found that a relative change in subjective distress predicted a relative change in difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings but not in externally oriented thinking. We suggest therefore that the alexithymic sub-domains could be considered relatively stable traits but that the level of difficulty identifying and describing feeling varies with the level of subjective distress.

• Författare: Magnus Lindén; Martin Bäckström; Per-Olof Michel; Lars-Gunnar Lundh
• Avdelning/ar: Institutionen för psykologi
• Publiceringsår: 2010
• Språk: Engelska
• Sidor: 350-355
• Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
• Volym: 51
• Länkar: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2010.00807.x
• Dokumenttyp: Artikel i tidskrift
• Förlag: Wiley-Blackwell
• Ämne: Psychology
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt: ISSN: 1467-9450