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  • Title: Alexithymia behaves as a personality trait over a 5-year period in Finnish general population.
    Author: Salminen JK, Saarijärvi S, Toikka T, Kauhanen J, Aärelä E.
    Journal: J Psychosom Res; 2006 Aug; 61(2):275-8. PubMed ID: 16880032.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: Temporal stability is a basic assumption underlying any personality trait construct. Previous research on the stability of alexithymia has led to a controversy over whether alexithymia should be viewed as a state-dependent phenomenon or as a stable personality trait. The aim of this 5-year longitudinal study was to examine the temporal stability of alexithymia in the general population in Finland. METHODS: Alexithymia was measured with the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) at the baseline and 5 years later. RESULTS: The test-retest correlations of the TAS-20 total and factor-specific scores at the baseline and at the 5-year follow-up ranged from moderate to high in both genders, reflecting a rather high relative stability of the TAS-20 scores over a period of 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of our study suggest that alexithymia behaves like a stable personality trait in the general population.
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