Email this article 
Depression, Anxiety, Alexithymia and Childhood Psychological Traumas as Predictors of Dissociative Experiences in Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Individuals
Abstract
Objectives: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between depression, anxiety, alexithymia, childhood psychological trauma, and dissociative experiences.
Method: The study was conducted with 54 Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Individuals[LGB] volunteering participants aged from 18 to 36 years old, who were members of a closed group on Facebook, by the help of Lesbian Gay and Bisexual individuals applying to Private Corlu Reyap Hospital due to various psychiatric complaints. The participants were administered a Demographic Information Form, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Scale, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Childhood Psychological Traumas Scale, and Dissociative Experiences Scale . Pearson Correlation analysis was used in order to evaluate the study data.
Results: Significant and positive correlations of anxiety with the depressive symptoms, childhood traumas, dissociation, and difficulty in identifying feelings, which is a subdimension of alexithymia, were reached. The depressive symptoms were positively and significantly correlated with childhood trauma, dissociation, and difficulty in identifying feelings, which is a subdimension of alexithymia; however, a negative and significant correlation between the depressive symptoms and externally-oriented thinking was determined. Negative significant correlations of alexithymia were found with emotional neglect, which is a subdimension of childhood trauma, as well as positive significant correlations of alexithymia with dissociation. The correlation between childhood trauma and the difficulty in identifying feelings, which is one of the subdimensions of alexithymia was determined to be positive; whereas, the correlation between externally-oriented thinking and the difficulty in expressing emotions was determined to be negative. Lastly, there was a significant and positive correlation of dissociation with externally-oriented thinking, which is a subdimension of alexithymia, and a significant and positive correlation between dissociation and physical abuse, which is a subdimension of childhood trauma.
Discussion: The results of the study and its significance were discussed along with its limitations in the light of the related information in the literature and emerging ideas were suggested for future studies.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
References:
Sifneos PE. Alexithymia: Past and present. Am J Psychiatry. 1996 Jul: 153(Suppl):137*-142
Lesser IM. A review of the alexithymia concept. Psychosomatic Medicine 1981; 43 (6): 531-543. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006842-198112000-00009
Freyberger H. Supportive psychotherapeutic techniques in primary and secondary alexithymia. Psychother Psychom. 1977; 28(1-4): 337–345. doi:10.1159/000287080
WHO. Child Maltreatment, 2016. Erişim tarihi: 28.07.2019. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/child-maltreatment
WHO. Child Maltreatment, 2017. Erişim tarihi: 28.07.2019. https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/child/Child_maltreatment_infographic_EN.pdf?ua=1
Maschi T, Baer J, Morrissey MB, Moreno C. The aftermath of childhood trauma on late life mental and physical health. A review of the literature. Traumatology 2012; 19(1):49-64.
Love HA, Torgerson CN. Traumatic experiences in childhood and adult substance use in a nonclinical Sample: The mediating role of arousal/reactivity. JMFT 2018; 45(3): 508-520. doi:10.1111/jmft.12348
Terock J, Van der Auwera S, Janowitz D, Spitzer C, Barnow S, Miertsch M, at.all. From childhood trauma to adult dissociation: The role of PTSD and alexithymia. Psychopathology 2016, 49(5), 374–382. doi:10.1159/000449004
Örsel S, Karadağ H, Karaoğlan-Kahiloğulları A, Akgün- Aktaş E. Psikiyatri hastalarında çocukluk çağı travmalarının sıklığı ve psikopatoloji ile ilişkisi. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi 2011, 12,130-136.
Vonderlin R, Kleindienst N, Alpers GW, Bohus M, Lyssenko L, Schmahl C. Dissociation in victims of childhood abuse or neglect: a meta-analytic review. Psychological Medicine 2018; 1–10: doi:10.1017/s0033291718000740
Bülbül F, Çakır Ü, Ülkü C, Üre I, Karabatak O, Alpak G. Yineleyen ve ilk atak depresyonda çocukluk çagi ruhsal travmalarinin yeri/Childhood trauma in recurrent and first episode depression. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi 2013; 14(2): 93-99.
Şenkal İ, Işıklı S. Çocukluk çağı travmalarının ve bağlanma biçiminin depresyon belirtileri ile ilişkisi: Aleksitiminin aracı rolü. Türk Psikiyatri Dergisi 2015; 26(4): 1-7.
Amerikan Psikiyatri Birliği. Ruhsal bozuklukların tanısal ve sayımsal el kitabı,Beşinci baskı(DSM-V). E Köroğlu (Çev. Ed.). Ankara, Hekimler Yayın Birliği. 2014
Kihlstrom JF. Dissociative disorders. Annual Review Clinical Psychology 2005; 1(1): 227-253.
Tekin M, Tekin A. Anksiyete Bozukluklarında Dissosiyatif Belirtiler. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar 2014; 6(4): 330-339.
Gül A, Gül H, Erberk- Özen N, Battal S. Çocukluk çağı travmaları zemininde depresyon, anksiyete ve dissosiasyon semptomları ilişkisinin araştırılması. Journal of Mood Disorders 2016; 6(3): 107-115.
Măirean C, Ceobanu CM. The relationship between suppression and subsequent intrusions: the mediating role of peritraumatic dissociation and anxiety. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping 2016; 30(3), 304–316. doi:10.1080/10615806.2016.1263839.
Meyer IH. Prejudice, Social Stress, and Mental Health in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Populations: Conceptual Issues and Research Evidence. Psychol Bull 2003; 129 (5): 674- 697.
Wallien MS, Swaab H, Cohen-Kettenis PT. Psychiatric comorbidity among children with gender identity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 2007; 46(10):1307-14.
Brian SM, Robert G, Erin ME. Mental Health Disorders, Psychological Distress, and Suicidality in a Diverse Sample of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youths. Am J Public Health 2010; 100 (12): 2426-2432.
Toomey RB, Ryan C, Diaz RM, Card NA, Russell ST. Gender-nonconforming lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth: School victimization and young adult psychosocial adjustment. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity 2013; 1(S): 71–80. doi:10.1037/2329-0382.1.s.71
Beck AT. An inventory for measuring depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1961; 4(6): 561. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004
Savaşır I, Şahin NH. Bilişsel davranışçı terapilerde değerlendirme: Sık kullanılan ölçekler. Ankara: Türk Psikologlar Derneği Yayınları, 1997
Hisli N. Beck Depresyon Envanterinin geçerliği üzerine bir çalışma. Psikoloji Dergisi 1988; 22, 118-126.
Hisli N. Beck Depresyon Envanterinin üniversite öğrencileri için geçerliği, güvenirliği. Psikoloji Dergisi 1989, 7(23), 3-13.
Beck AT, Epstein N, Brown G, Steer RA. An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1988: 56(6); 893–897. doi:10.1037/0022-006x.56.6.893
Ulusoy M, Şahin N, Erkmen H. Turkish version of the Beck anxiety inventory: psychometric properties. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy 1998; 12(2): 163-172.
Bagby RM, Parker JDA, Taylor GJ. The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia scale—I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 1994; 38(1): 23–32. doi:10.1016/0022-3999(94)90005-1
Güleç H, Köse S, Güleç YM, Çitak S, Evren C, Borckardt J, ve ark. Reliability and Factorial Validity of The Turkish Version of The 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Klinik Psikofarmakoloji Bülteni 2009; 19: 214-220.
Güleç H, Yenel A. 20 maddelik Toronto Aleksitimi Ölçeği Türkçe uyarlamasının kesme noktalarına göre psikometrik özellikleri. Klinik Psikiyatri 2010; 13: 108-112.
Bernstein DP, Fink L, Handelsman L, Foote J, Lovejoy M, Wenzel K, ve ark. Initial reliability and validity of a new retrospective measure of child abuse and neglect. The American Journal of Psychiatry 1994; 151(8): 1132–1136. doi:10.1176/ajp.151.8.1132
Bernstein DP, Stein JA, Newcomb MD, Walker E, Pogge D, Ahluvalia T, ve ark. Development and validation of a brief screening version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Child Abuse & Neglect 2003; 27(2): 169–190. doi:10.1016/s0145-2134(02)00541-0
Şar V, Öztürk E, İkikardeş E. Çocukluk Çağı Ruhsal Travma Ölçeğinin Türkçe uyarlamasının geçerlilik ve güvenirliği. Türkiye Klinikleri 2012; 32(4): 1054-1063. doi: 10.5336/medsci.2011-26947
Bernstein EM, Putnam PW. Development, reliability and validity of a dissociation scale. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 1986; 174(12): 727-735.
Yargıç Lİ, Tutkun H, Şar V. The reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale. Dissociation 1995; 8(1): 10-12.
Clark LA, Watson D. Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: Psychometric evidence and taxonomic implications. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1991; 100(3): 316–336. doi:10.1037/0021-843x.100.3.316.
Simning A, Conwell Y, Fisher SG, Richardson TM, van Wijngaarden E. The characteristics of anxiety and depression symptom severity in older adults living in public housing. International Psychogeriatrics 2011; 24(04): 614–623. doi:10.1017/s1041610211001979.
Yücel P, Çayır Y, Yücel M. Birinci trimester gebelerde depresyon ve anksiyete bozukluğu. Klinik Psikiyatri Dergisi 2013; 16(2): 83-87.
Simon NM, Herlands NN, Marks EH, Mancini C, Letamendi A, Li Z, ve ark. Childhood maltreatment linked to greater symptom severity and poorer quality of life and function in social anxiety disorder. Depression and Anxiety 2009; 26(11): 1027–1032. doi:10.1002/da.
Hovens JGFM, Giltay EJ, Wiersma JE, Spinhoven P, Penninx BWJH, Zitman FG. Impact of childhood life events and trauma on the course of depressive and anxiety disorders. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 2012, 126(3), 198–207. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2011.01828.x
Berthoz S, Consoli S, Perez-Diaz F, Jouvent R. Alexithymia and anxiety: compounded relationships? A psychometric study. Eur Psychiatry. 1999 Nov 1;14(7):372-8.
Karukivi M, Vahlberg T, Pölönen T, Filppu T, Saarijärvi S. Does alexithymia expose to mental disorder symptoms in late adolescence? A 4-year follow-up study. General hospital psychiatry 2014; 36(6): 748-752.
Dalbudak E, Evren C, Aldemir S, Evren B. The severity of Internet addiction risk and its relationship with the severity of borderline personality features, childhood traumas, dissociative experiences, depression and anxiety symptoms among Turkish University Students. Psychiatry Research 2014; 219(3): 577–582. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2014.02.032
Moskvina V, Farmer A, Swainson V, O’Leary J, Gunasinghe C, Owen M, ve ark. Interrelationship of childhood trauma, neuroticism, and depressive phenotype. Depression and Anxiety 2007, 24(3), 163–168. doi:10.1002/da.20216
McElheran M, Briscoe-Smith A, Khaylis A, Westrup D, Hayward C, Gore-Felton C. A conceptual model of post-traumatic growth among children and adolescents in the aftermath of sexual abuse. Counselling Psychology Quarterly 2012; 25(1): 73–82. doi:10.1080/09515070.2012.665225
Saarijärvi S, Salminen JK, Toikka TB. Alexithymia and depression: A 1-year follow-up study in outpatients with major depression. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 2001; 51(6): 729-733.
Place PJ, Ling S, Patihis L. Full statistical mediation of the relationship between trauma and depressive symptoms. International Journal of Psychology 2016, 53(2), 142–149. doi:10.1002/ijop.12279.
Evren C, Ögel K. Alkol/madde bağımlılarında dissosiyatif belirtiler ve çocukluk çağı travması, depresyon, anksiyete ve alkol/madde kullanımı ile ilişkisi. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi 2003; 4: 30-37.
De Berardis D, D’Albenzio A, Gambi F, Sepede G, Valchera A, Conti CM,ve ark. Alexithymia and Its Relationships with Dissociative Experiences and Internet Addiction in a Nonclinical Sample. CyberPsychology & Behavior 2009; 12(1): 67–69. doi:10.1089/cpb.2008.0108.
Özkol H. Çocukluk Çağı Travmaları, Disosiasyon, Travma Sonrası Stres Bozukluğu ve Başka Türlü Adlandırılmayan Aşırı Stres Bozuklukları Arasındaki İlişki. Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi. Ankara Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, 2014.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.52155/ijpsat.v30.1.3815
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2022 HUSEYIN MURAT OZKAN
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.