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  • Title: Alexithymia in adolescents with borderline personality disorder.
    Author: Loas G, Speranza M, Pham-Scottez A, Perez-Diaz F, Corcos M.
    Journal: J Psychosom Res; 2012 Feb; 72(2):147-52. PubMed ID: 22281457.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between alexithymia and borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adolescents. METHODS: The study investigated a sample of 59 consulting or inpatient adolescents with a well-established diagnosis of BPD (SIDP-IV) and a control sample of healthy adolescents individually matched by gender, age and socio-economic status. Alexithymia, depression and trait-anxiety were rated using the Twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the trait-anxiety subscale from the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T), respectively. A confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) was performed to test the fit of the three-factor structure of the TAS-20 in the adolescent sample (N=140). BPD and control groups were compared on alexithymic scores using ANCOVA analyses controlling for the potential confounding effects of depression and anxiety. RESULTS: The ratio of the chi-square to its degrees of freedom, the goodness-of-fit index, the adjusted goodness-of-fit index and Steiger's root-mean-square error of approximation had satisfactory values of 1.54; 0.87; 0.83 and 0.058, respectively. The two ANCOVA demonstrated no significant difference for TAS-20 scores. BPD subjects were more alexithymic than healthy subjects but this difference was mainly explained by the levels of depression or anxiety. LIMITATIONS: Since BPD subjects have high comorbidity with depression or anxiety, longitudinal studies examining the absolute and relative stability of TAS-20 scores are necessary to determine whether alexithymia constitutes a state or a trait in BPD. CONCLUSIONS: BPD adolescents are characterized by alexithymia, probably of a secondary or state-dependent nature.
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