Alexithymia in Chinese methamphetamine dependent males: prevalence, demographic, clinical correlates, and relationship with craving.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVES

Alexithymia is a state of complex personality trait, where individuals are characterized by a predicament in recognizing and expressing emotions, which are mainly caused by genetic, neurological, or psychological factors. In this study, it was hypothesized that methamphetamine (MA) dependent males having alexithymia are susceptible to utilizing MA at a frequent or enhanced rate. Moreover, the study aimed to quantify the prevalence of alexithymia in 411 Chinese MA-dependent males based on variables related to demographic characteristics and drug use.

METHODS

Self-reported questionnaires were utilized to gather the demographic data from the 411 selected patients in Xinhua Drug Rehabilitation Center, China. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) was employed to evaluate the level of alexithymia within the MA-dependent males. The effect of craving was assessed by using the Obsessive Compulsive Drug Use Scale (OCDUS).

RESULTS

Results and Discussions: The prevalence rate of alexithymia found in MA-dependent males was 30.41% evaluated using the relationship. i.e. (Alexithymia Patients / Total No. of Sample). Note that the scores of craving frequency, drug interference, drug control, and OCDUS were significantly higher in alexithymic compared to non-alexithymic MA-dependent males. Pearson’s correlation indicated a positive association between various dimensions of alexithymia and measures of drug craving, where OCDUS was observed to be positively correlated with TAS-20 and its sub-scales. Eventually, the logistic regression analysis found that craving frequency and drug interference played a significant positive role in predicting alexithymia within MA-dependent males.

CONCLUSION

Our findings exhibit a significantly higher prevalence of alexithymia in Chinese MA-dependent males, which is found to be strongly associated with variables related to drug use. In addition, drug interference and craving frequency are recognized.