An Empirical Examination of the Association Between Alexithymia and Some Imaginal Characteristics: Theoretical and Methodological Considerations

Alexithymia was weakly linked to dreaming characteristics but not to daydreaming frequency or content. Higher alexithymia levels were associated with more frequent use of fantasising for emotion regulation, and this type of fantasising, alexithymia, and psychological distress were positively interrelated. The authors speculate that people high in alexithymia more frequently fantasise for emotion regulation, but these attempts appear ineffective, highlighting underlying deficits in imaginal processes.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Introduction: There is an ongoing debate among proponents of different alexithymia frameworks regarding whether impoverished imaginal processes constitute a core component of the alexithymia construct. The current study examined whether alexithymia was associated with fantasising for emotion regulation and a series of brief (day)dreaming indicators. Material and methods: A total of 271 Polish participants recruited from social media platforms completed a series of measures assessing alexithymia (Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20), fantasising for emotion regulation, (day)dreaming characteristics, psychological distress and well-being. A set of correlational, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses was used. Results: The Polish TAS-20 is characterised by the intended 3-factor structure, with acceptable-to-excellent statistical fit indices. While alexithymia levels were weakly linked to dreaming characteristics, they were not associated with one-item measures of daydreaming frequency or daydream content. Higher levels of alexithymia were related to more frequent use of fantasising for emotion regulation. This type of fantasising, alexithymia and psychological distress were positively interrelated. Conclusions: As a matter of clinical importance, we speculate that people high in alexithymia more frequently fantasise for emotion regulation, however, these attempts seem to be ineffective, highlighting their underlying deficits in imaginal processes. These findings ought to be considered in light of the study’s limitations. Future research requires supplementing self-report alexithymia measures with other methods.