ArticleBMC psychiatry2021
Investigating defensive functioning and alexithymia in substance use disorder patients.
Article in BMC psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Association between alexithymia and substance use: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Automated Facial Emotion Recognition System Detects Altered Emotional Processing During Craving Induction in Individuals with Substance Use Disorder.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Alexithymia and attachment dimensions in relation to parental burnout: A structural equation modelling approach.PloS one · 2025Article
- Cluster analysis of patients with alcohol use disorder featuring alexithymia, depression, and diverse drinking behavior.Neuropsychopharmacology reports · 2024Article
- Studyholism as a New Potential OCD-Related Disorder: What Evidence Have We Gathered until Now? A Narrative Review.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Heavy Study Investment: An Analysis of the Defense Mechanisms Characterizing Studyholism and Study Engagement.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundSubstance Use Disorder (SUD) causes a great deal of personal suffering for patients. Recent evidence highlights how defenses and emotion regulation may play a crucial part in the onset and development of this disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate potential differences in the defensive functioning between SUD patients and non-clinical controls. Secondly, we aimed at investigating the relationships between alexithymia and maladaptive/assimilation defenses.
methodsThe authors assessed defensive functioning (Response Evaluation Measure-71, REM-71), personality (MMPI-II), and alexithymia (TAS-20) of 171 SUD patients (17% female; mean age = 36.5), compared to 155 controls. Authors performed a series of ANOVAs to investigate the defensive array in SUD patients compared to that of non-clinical controls. Student t test for indipendent samples was used to compare clinical characteristics between the SUD group and the controls. To investigate the role of single defenses in explaining alexithimia's subscores, stepwise multiple regression analysis were carried out on socio-demographic characteristics of participants (gender, age, and years of education), with REM-71 defenses as predictors.
resultsSUD patients presented a more maladaptive/assimilation (Factor 1) defensive array (p < .001). Among SUD sub-groups, Alcohol Use Disorder patients showed more disfuncional defenses. Factor 1 defenses were related to a worse psychological functioning. In addition, alexyhimia (particularly DIF) was strongly related to Factor 1 defenses, expecially Projection (38% of variance explained, β = .270, p < .001).
conclusionThe REM-71 and the TAS-20 might be useful screening instruments among SUD patients.
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