Attachment Style and Parental Bonding: Relationships with Fibromyalgia and Alexithymia

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2020 Apr 15

PMID 32287311

Citations 11

Authors

Annunziata Romeo

Marialaura Di Tella

Ada Ghiggia

Valentina Tesio

Enrico Fusaro

Giuliano Carlo Geminiani

Lorys Castelli

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain syndrome, and alexithymia, which is a condition that is characterised by deficits in emotional self-awareness, is highly prevalent among individuals with FM. Insecure attachment styles and inadequate parental care appear to play an important role in the onset and maintenance of both alexithymia and chronic pain. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the associations between attachment styles, parental bonding, and alexithymia among patients with FM and healthy controls (HC).

Methods: All participants completed a battery of tests that assessed alexithymia, attachment styles, and parental bonding. Two logistic regression models were tested to examine whether these variables predict (a) group membership (i.e. patients with FM vs. HC) and (b) the likelihood of having alexithymia (i.e. among patients with FM and HC).

Results: Alexithymia (i.e. difficulty identifying and describing feelings subscales of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale) significantly predicted group membership (i.e. the likelihood of having FM). On the other hand, educational level and dismissive attachment (i.e. the discomfort with closeness and relationships as secondary subscales of the Attachment Style Questionnaire) were the only significant predictors of the likelihood of having alexithymia.

Conclusions: These findings highlight both the relevance of alexithymic traits to the definition of FM and centrality of an insecure attachment style to the manifestation of alexithymia.

Citing Articles

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Ozdemir Y, Ergelen M, Ozen B, Akgul I, Bestepe E Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2022; 18:3023-3033.

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