Research ArticleOriginal Article
Open Access

Prevalence and associated factors of alexithymia among medical students: A cross-sectional study from Saudi Arabia

Mohammed A. Aljaffer, Ahmad H. Almadani, Saleh A. Alghamdi, Ibrahim M. Alabdulkarim, Mohammed A. Albabtain, Rayed M. Altameem, Abdulrahman A. Almugren, Abdulaziz F. Alomairy and Abdulaziz A. Alghofaily
Neurosciences Journal October 2022, 27 (4) 257-262; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17712/nsj.2022.4.20220049

Article Figures & Data

Tables

  • Table 1

    - Distribution of demographic and clinical characteristics of study subjects (n=420).

    Characteristicsn (%)
    Age 
    18-20
    21-23
    24-26
    26-28    		161(38.3)
    243(57.9)
    14(3.3)
    2(0.5)
    Gender 
    Female
    Male    		153(36.4)
    267(63.6)
    Years 
    First year
    Second year
    Third year
    Fourth year
    Fifth year    		72(17.1)
    88(21.0)
    119(28.3)
    78(18.6)
    63(15.0)
    Family income 
    1,000-10,000
    11,000-20,000
    21,000-30,000
    Lower than 1,000
    More than 30,000    		44(10.5)
    94(22.4)
    90(21.4)
    17(4.0)
    175(41.7)
    Grade point average 
    3.49–2
    4.49–3
    Above 4.5
    Below 2.5    		9(2.1)
    127(30.2)
    283(67.4)
    1(0.2)
    Marital status 
    Divorced
    Married
    Single    		2(0.5)
    2(0.5)
    416(99.0)
    Parents marital status 
    Divorced
    Married
    Widow    		17(4.0)
    382(91.0)
    21(5.0)
    Smoking status 
    Ex-smoker
    Non-smoker
    Smoker    		8(1.9)
    389(92.6)
    23(5.5)
    Housing 
    House
    Rented house
    Students’ dormitory    		371(88.4)
    40(9.5)
    9(2.1)
    Clinical characteristics variablesn (%)
    Have you lived most of your childhood with your parents?
    Yes
    No    		401(95.5)
    19(4.5)
    Have you ever experienced emotional, physical, or sexual abuse during childhood?
    Yes
    No    		111(26.4)
    309(73.6)
    Have you been diagnosed with any psychiatric condition?
    Yes
    No    		64(15.2)
    356(84.8)
    How often do you take part in physical training?
    More than three times a week
    Never
    Once a week
    Two to 3 times a week    		81(19.3)
    139(33.1)
    97(23.1)
    103(24.5)
  • Table 2

    - Prevalence of probable alexithymia.

    Probable alexithymian (%)
    Non-alexithymia
    Alexithymia
    Possible alexithymia    		205(48.8)
    113(26.9)
    102(24.3)
  • Table 3

    - Association between alexithymia and socio-demographic characteristics of study subjects.

    DemographicsNon-alexithymiaAlexithymiaPossible alexithymiaChi-Square valueP-value
    Age     
    18-20
    21-23
    24-26
    26-28    		65 (31.7)
    130 (63.4)
    8 (3.9)
    2 (1.0)    		49 (43.4)
    63 (55.8)
    1 (0.9)
    0 (0.0)    		47 (46.1)
    50 (49.0)
    5 (4.9)
    0 (0.0)
    12.329


    		0.055
    Gender     
    Female
    Male    		65 (31.7)
    140 (68.3)    		54 (47.8)
    59 (52.2)    		34 (33.3)
    68 (66.7)
    8.691    		0.013
    Year     
    First year
    Second year
    Third year
    Fourth year
    Fifth year    		26 (12.7)
    42 (20.5)
    53 (25.9)
    47 (22.9)
    37 (18.0)    		27 (23.9)
    24 (21.2)
    35 (30.9)
    13 (11.5)
    14 (12.4)    		19 (18.6)
    22 (21.6)
    31 (30.4)
    18 (17.6)
    12 (11.8)
    14.109


    		0.079
    Family income     
    1,000-10,000
    11,000-20,000
    21,000-30,000
    Lower than 1,000
    More than 30,000    		13 (6.3)
    41 (20.0)
    48 (23.4)
    12 (5.9)
    91 (44.4)    		16 (14.2)
    29 (25.7)
    18 (15.9)
    2 (1.8)
    48 (42.5)    		15 (14.7)
    24 (23.5)
    24 (23.5)
    3 (2.9)
    36 (35.3)    		14.6420.066
    Grade point average     
    3.49–2
    4.49–3
    Above 4.5
    Below 2.5    		4 (2.0)
    69 (33.7)
    131 (63.9)
    1 (0.5)    		1 (0.9)
    29 (25.7)
    83 (73.5)
    0 (0.0)    		4 (3.9)
    29 (28.4)
    69 (67.6)
    0 (0.0)
    6.097


    		0.066
    Marital status     
    Divorced
    Married
    Single    		0 (0.0)
    1 (0.5)
    204 (99.5)    		2 (1.8)
    1 (0.9)
    110 (97.3)    		0 (0.0)
    0 (0.0)
    102 (100.0)    		6.6360.174
    Parents marital status     
    Divorced
    Married
    Widow    		8 (3.9)
    188
    (91.7)
    9 (4.4)    		6 (5.3)
    102
    (90.3)
    5 (4.4)    		3 (2.9)
    92
    (90.2)
    7 (6.9)    		1.7420.786
    Smoking status     
    Ex-smoker
    Non-smoker
    Smoker    		5 (2.4)
    191 (93.2)
    9 (4.4)    		3 (2.7)
    102 (90.3)
    8 (7.1)    		0 (0.0)
    96 (94.1)
    6 (5.9)    		3.6860.450
    House type     
    House
    Rented house
    Students’ dormitory    		185 (90.2)
    16 (7.8)
    4 (2.0)    		99 (87.6)
    12 (10.6)
    2 (1.8)    		87 (85.3)
    12 (11.8)
    3 (2.9)    		6.0470.749
    Have you lived most of your childhood with your parents?   
    No
    Yes    		9 (4.4)
    196 (95.6)    		8 (7.1)
    105 (92.9)    		2 (2.0)
    100 (98.8)
    3.269    		0.213
    Have you ever experienced emotional, physical, or sexual abuse during childhood?  
    No
    Yes    		164 (80.0)
    41 (20.0)    		72 (63.7)
    41 (36.3)    		73 (71.6)
    29 (28.4)
    10.211    		0.006
    Have you been diagnosed with any psychiatric condition?    
    No
    Yes    		179 (87.3)
    26 (12.7)    		87 (77.0)
    26 (23.0)    		90 (88.2)
    12 (11.8)
    7.272    		0.026
    How often do you take part in physical training?    
    More than 3 times a week
    Never
    Once a week
    Two to 3 times a week    		40 (19.5)
    56 (27.3)
    51 (24.9)
    58 (28.3)    		16 (14.2)
    49 (43.4)
    27 (23.9)
    21 (18.6)    		25 (24.5)
    34 (33.3)
    19 (18.6)
    24 (23.5)
    12.707


    		0.048
  • Table 4

    - Comparison of mean values of Alexithymia items between male and female study subjects.

    ItemsGender Male (n=267)Gender Female (n=153)T-test of mean difference
     Mean±SDMean±SDP-valueCI of 95%T-value
    Alexithymia51.434±11.56054.843±13.1470.0060.984 – 5.83288.071
    Describing feelings13,58±3.77713.74±3.8730.6900.605 – 0.91473.405
    Identifying feelings18.80±5.47318.95±4.8910.7750.897 – 1.20373.431
    Oriented thinking20.206±4.98120.13±4.6360.8790.893 – 1.04385.281
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