Correlation analysis of alexithymia level and social support of patients with depression

Objective To find out the level of alexithymia and the relationship between alexithymia and social support of patients with depression. Methods 86 patients with alexithymia were investigated by Toronto Alexithymia Scale(TAS) and Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS). Results The scores of depression patients(75.22 ± 13.93 ) in TAS were significant higher than the controls group ( 60. 19 ± 9.27 ) ( P ＜ 0.01 ).Scores in factor 1-ability of describing feelings and factor 2-ability of identifyings of depression patients were highest, devating the median. Except subjective social support wash't related to all factors of TAS, ability of describing feelings was negatively correlated with the total scores and all factors of SSRS( P ＜ 0. 01 ) , and fancy was positively correlated with the total scores and all factors of SSRS( P ＜ 0.01 ). Conclusion Level of alexithymia was significant correlated with social support for patients with depression, and doctors can improve the situation of social support of depression patients by solving the difficulties in expressing feelings. Key words: Depression;  Alexithymia;  Social support