Background: The aim of the current study was to analyze the relationship between alexithymia, anxiety, physical problems, trauma, and psychological distress in women undergoing in vitro fertilization.
Subjects and methods: The study was based on 78 women (mean age = 34.4 ys) who were referred to a fertility treatment with in vitro fertilization. The questionnaires (socio-demographic questionnaire, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measure) were administered by the investigators.
Results: Our results suggest that alexithymia was significantly correlated to anxiety (r=0.506, p=0.00), depression (r=0.591, p=0.00), physical problems (r=0.477, p=0.00), trauma (r=0.512, p=0.00), and psychological distress (r=0.598, p=0.00). Furthermore, high alexithymia group showed significantly higher levels of anxiety (F=4.65, p=0.00), depression (F=2.30, p=0.00), trauma (F=1.80, p=0.00) and general psychological distress (F=2.85, p=0.04) than the low alexithymia group.
Conclusions: Results of the present study point out that alexithymia could be considered a potential risk factor for high levels of anxiety, depression and general psychological distress. It may also be used as an indicator of a need for further psychological support aimed at women undergoing in vitro fertilization.