Alexithymia and alcohol: The roles of punishment sensitivity and drinking motives

Michael Lyvers; Penelope Hasking; Bonnie Albrecht; Fred Arne Thorberg

doi:10.3109/16066359.2011.636494

Alexithymia and alcohol: The roles of punishment sensitivity and drinking motives

Michael Lyvers^*, Penelope Hasking, Bonnie Albrecht, Fred Arne Thorberg

^*Corresponding author for this work

Faculty of Society & Design

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Alexithymia refers to difficulties identifying and describing feelings. It is suspected of being a risk factor for problematic drinking, an idea examined by this study. In 178 women and 84 men alexithymia was associated with male gender, coping motives for drinking and sensitivity to punishment. Individuals with alexithymia reported stronger coping motives and sensitivity to punishment compared to those with borderline or no alexithymia. Path analysis indicated that the relationship between the alexithymia dimension difficulties identifying feelings and coping motives was mediated by sensitivity to punishment, and the relationship between sensitivity to punishment and risky drinking was mediated by coping motives. These results suggest that alcohol may be used by individuals with alexithymia to help them cope with anxiety or other negative affect.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	348-357
Number of pages	10
Journal	Addiction Research and Theory
Volume	20
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3109/16066359.2011.636494
Publication status	Published - Aug 2012

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10.3109/16066359.2011.636494

Alexithymia and alcohol: The roles of punishment sensitivity and drinking motivesAccepted author manuscript, 435 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

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AB - Alexithymia refers to difficulties identifying and describing feelings. It is suspected of being a risk factor for problematic drinking, an idea examined by this study. In 178 women and 84 men alexithymia was associated with male gender, coping motives for drinking and sensitivity to punishment. Individuals with alexithymia reported stronger coping motives and sensitivity to punishment compared to those with borderline or no alexithymia. Path analysis indicated that the relationship between the alexithymia dimension difficulties identifying feelings and coping motives was mediated by sensitivity to punishment, and the relationship between sensitivity to punishment and risky drinking was mediated by coping motives. These results suggest that alcohol may be used by individuals with alexithymia to help them cope with anxiety or other negative affect.

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Alexithymia and alcohol: The roles of punishment sensitivity and drinking motives

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