Objective: To investigate the relationship of somatic symptoms and alexithymia in clients of dept. of clinical psychology. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among 144 clients of dept. of clinical psychology. The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was used to assess all participants for alexithymia. Additionally, all participants completed a number of symptom questionnaires, Hypochondriasis Scale and Depression Scale in MMPI. Results: ①The score of Depression Scale in high-alexithymia group was significantly higher than that in low-alexithymia group, and the scores of Hypochondriasis Scale between two groups have no significantly difference; ②The group of clients whose main complains were somatic symptoms and psychological symptoms, the TAS total score, DIF-specific facets of alexithymia (difficulty identifying emotions) were significantly higher than that of clients who only had psychological symptoms; ③Only DIF of high-Hs group was significantly higher than that of low-Hs group; the TAS total score, DIF were significantly as-sociated with Hs. Conclusion: Alexithymia was associated with somatic symptoms or Hypochondriasis in counseling clients in some degree. DIF-specific facets of alexithymia (difficulty identifying emotions) may be a more sensitive factor to pre-dict somatic symptoms than the TAS total score.
|