Is alexithymia linked with marital satisfaction or attachment to the partner? A study in a pregnancy cohort of parents-to-be.

OBJECTIVE To investigate possible associations of alexithymia with marital satisfaction and mutual attachment between the partners in a group of parents-to-be during pregnancy. METHODS The present study was conducted in a pregnancy cohort. Cross-sectional data were available for 151 mothers and 106 fathers, and altogether 102 couples. The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was used to assess alexithymia, the Index of Marital Satisfaction (IMS) to assess romantic relationship satisfaction and the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale (ECR) to evaluate attachment-related anxiety and avoidance. Kruskal-Wallis test was used for categorized variable comparisons. For continuous variables, Spearman correlation analyses and linear regression analyses were conducted. RESULTS The TAS-20 total score, as well as, two of its dimensions, difficulties in identifying and describing feelings, were significantly correlated (p<0.01) with both the IMS scores and the ECR anxiety and avoidance scores. In the regression analyses, the most significant predictive factor for the subjects' IMS scores was their partners' corresponding scores, although among fathers the IMS scores were partly explained by their own TAS-20 factor 1 scores (p=0.004). The subjects' own TAS-20 scores explained the ECR anxiety and avoidance scores to a significant extent, but the fathers' TAS-20 factor 3 scores were also associated with the mothers' avoidance scores (p=0.037). CONCLUSION Alexithymia was not directly related to marital satisfaction. However, alexithymia appears to have a significant effect on relationship-related anxiety and avoidance. This association should be further studied in parents and their offspring in a longitudinal setting.