Additive and interactive effects of neuroticism and extraversion (NEO-FFI), the TAS-20 total score (20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale) and its factors (Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF), Difficulty Describing Feelings (DDF) and External Oriented Thinking (EOT)) have been investigated on depressive symptoms, the number of chronic diseases, somatic and mental subjective health complaints.
The results indicated that both clinical groups reported higher TAS-20 scores than the non-clinical subjects, but they did not differ from each other (a); moreover, a large correlation was detected between alexithymia and depressive symptoms, as assessed by the SCL-90-R. Study 2 involved 55 inpatients with SUD recruited in a therapeutic community.