SynthesisScandinavian journal of psychology2022
Association between alexithymia and substance use: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Scandinavian journal of psychology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 54 citations in OpenAlex.
- Alexithymia in Schizophrenia and Psychosis Vulnerability: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Alexithymia mediates white-matter microstructure and substance use escalation in trauma-exposed individuals.Journal of affective disorders · 2026Article
- Temporal pathways between alexithymia, psychological distress, and pain: An autoregressive mediation analysis.Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association · 2026Article
- Exploring Comorbid Addictive Symptoms in Gambling Disorder: The Role of Emotion Regulation, Alexithymia, and Social Support.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- Family Communication Patterns and Emotional Schemas as Predictors of Addiction Tendency in Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Alexithymia.International journal of school health · 2026Article
- Alexithymia and Cyberchondria: A Scoping Review with Implications for Healthcare Contexts.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Adult attachment insecurity and uncertain reflective functioning as mediators between traumatic experiences and alexithymia in young adults: a structural equation modeling approach.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Differential associations between distinct facets of empathy, engaged gaming, and problematic gaming behaviours.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Behavioral, not self-reported, experiential avoidance predicts early treatment discontinuation at residential substance use treatment.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Elevated Stress Reactivity: A Barrier to Cannabis Use Change Behavior.Substance use & misuse · 2026Article
- Efficacy of an integrated treatment for fathers with Co-occurring substance misuse and family violence.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2025Article
- Affective abstraction predicts variation in alexithymia, depression, and autism spectrum quotient.Emotion (Washington, D.C.) · 2025Article
- Depressive and mobile phone addiction symptoms in Chinese adolescents with major depressive disorder: the mediating effect of alexithymia.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- How Alexithymia Increases Mental Health Symptoms in Adolescence: Longitudinal Evidence for the Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation.Affective science · 2025Article
- Effect of a Novel Somatic Avatar Training on Distress Tolerance Among Unhoused Men Recovering from Substance use Disorders: A Pilot Study.Journal of technology in behavioral science · 2025Article
- The relationship between core self-evaluation and cognitive failure in Chinese adolescents: the sequential mediating role of alexithymia and depression.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Effects of a Body-Based Mindfulness Program on Alexithymia, Dispositional Mindfulness, and Distress Symptoms: A Pilot Clinical Trial.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Immediate memory is associated with alexithymia in Chinese Han first-episode, drug-naïve major depressive disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Prevalence of Alexithymia and Associated Factors Among Dental Students in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Research on Depression in Children with Severe Bronchial Asthma: The Impact of Alexithymia and Somatic Symptoms.Alpha psychiatry · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Alexithymia has been associated with substance use, but the magnitude of the association has not been evaluated and sub-group differences, if any, are unknown. The aim of this meta-analysis is to systematically review the association between alexithymia and substance use (alcohol or illicit drugs). We identified studies through a systematic review of PubMed and Web of Science and obtained a total of 52 publications using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 scale. Random effects meta-analysis was used to evaluate the overall and sub-group associations. Of the studies, 50 were cross-sectional and two longitudinal. Alexithymia was associated with any substance use (Cohen's d = 0.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49-0.76), with little difference between estimates for use of alcohol or illicit drugs. A stronger association was observed for the alexithymia dimension "Difficulty in Identifying Feelings" (d = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.47-0.81) and "Difficulty in Describing Feelings" (d = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.32-0.55) than for "Externally Oriented Thinking" (d = 0.19, 95% CI = 0.09-0.28). The association was stronger in studies with clinical patient populations (d = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.62-1.05) than in those investigating general or student populations, and in studies with a majority of male rather than female participants. These findings suggest a strong overall association between alexithymia and substance use and a very strong association among clinical patient populations. The association may be stronger with the emotion-related dimensions than with the cognition-related dimension of alexithymia. As nearly all the studies were cross-sectional, more longitudinal studies are needed.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.