Alexithymia and its relationships with dissociative experiences and Internet addiction in a nonclinical sample

Cyberpsychol Behav. 2009 Feb;12(1):67-9. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2008.0108.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate alexithymia, dissociative experiences, and Internet addiction (IA) in a nonclinical sample of 312 undergraduate students, identifying predictive factors associated with the possible risk of developing IA. We found that alexithymics had more consistent dissociative experiences, lower self-esteem, and higher obsessive-compulsive symptoms than nonalexithymics. In addition, alexithymics reported a higher potential risk for IA when compared to nonalexithymics. Difficulty in identifying feelings, higher dissociative experiences, lower self-esteem, and higher impulse dysregulation were associated with higher IA. Thus, a combination of alexithymia, dissociative experiences, low self-esteem, and impulse dysregulation may be a risk factor for IA, at least in a nonclinical sample.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Affective Symptoms / complications*
  • Affective Symptoms / diagnosis
  • Affective Symptoms / psychology
  • Behavior, Addictive / complications*
  • Behavior, Addictive / diagnosis
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • Dissociative Disorders / complications*
  • Dissociative Disorders / diagnosis
  • Dissociative Disorders / psychology
  • Female
  • Hallucinations / complications*
  • Hallucinations / diagnosis
  • Hallucinations / psychology
  • Humans
  • Internet*
  • Male
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Psychological Tests
  • Reference Values
  • Regression Analysis
  • Risk Factors
  • Self Concept
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Young Adult