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The Influence of Alexithymia on Empathic Ability in Schizophrenia

Divilbiss, Marielle Kathleen
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1318807285

Abstract Details

2012, PHD, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences.
Deficits in social functioning are common in people with schizophrenia. One possible explanation for these deficits is impaired empathic ability. Empathic ability can be defined as the ability to recognize the emotions in others, through facial and vocal cues, and take the perspective of others. Impairments on emotion recognition and perspective taking tasks have been consistently found in people with schizophrenia. Some research suggests that knowledge of one’s own emotions enables understanding of others’ emotions. Alexithymia, the inability to identify and describe one’s own emotions, has been found to correlate with poor empathic ability in healthy and clinical groups, but has not been widely explored in a schizophrenic sample. The present study assessed 124 stable outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder on alexithymia, empathic ability, neurocognition, and negative emotionality. None of the planned mediations of alexithymia as a significant mediator in the relationship between symptoms of schizophrenia and empathic ability were supported. Lack of significant findings in predicted hypotheses may have been due to the measures used, difficulty of the tasks, or the presence of an unexpected underlying variable. Exploratory analyses were conducted and revealed the significant impact of negative emotionality in the relationships between overall and positive symptoms of schizophrenia and alexithymia. Based on these findings, although exploratory in nature, alexithymia was found to be, paradoxically, emotion-driven in this schizophrenia sample.
Nancy Docherty, PhD (Advisor)
William Merriman, PhD (Committee Member)
Janis Crowther, PhD (Committee Member)
Steven Brown, PhD (Committee Member)
Kristen Marcussen, PhD (Other)
106 p.
Psychology
Schizophrenia; alexithymia; empathy; empathic ability; theory of mind; social functioning

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Divilbiss, M. K. (2012). The Influence of Alexithymia on Empathic Ability in Schizophrenia [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1318807285

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Divilbiss, Marielle. The Influence of Alexithymia on Empathic Ability in Schizophrenia. 2012. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1318807285.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Divilbiss, Marielle. "The Influence of Alexithymia on Empathic Ability in Schizophrenia." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1318807285

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1318807285
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© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.