Alexithymia mediates the relationship between interoceptive awareness and its facets of self-regulation and trusting and body uneasiness

Abstract

A growing body of research have found associations between deficits in Interoceptive Awareness (IA) and altered body image including body and appearance dissatisfaction and Eating Disorders (ED). Despite so, the understanding of the relationship and mechanisms between IA and body image disturbances and disorders remains poor. Alexithymia is defined as a personality trait concerning troubles in recognizing and expressing feelings. The present study proposes that alexithymia with its links to poor IA, mediates the relationship between IA and its self-regulation and trusting facets and body uneasiness. The study aims to examine and identify the mechanisms that underlie their relationship in a non-clinical sample consisting of undergraduate students. Due to the dearth of research of IA, alexithymia and body image in non-clinical samples, the study aims to both extrapolate findings of well-documented research based on ED to explain these constructs in non-clinical samples as well as enhance understanding of these constructs for the ED population. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Body Uneasiness Test (BUT) and Self-Regulation and Trusting scales of the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness-2 (MAIA-2) were completed by 101 undergraduate students aged 18 to 27. After controlling for age and sex, results revealed that reduced IA and its self-regulation and trusting facets had a significant effect on greater body uneasiness. Alexithymia, through its associated emotional deficits was also found to mediate the relationship between IA and its self-regulation and trusting facets and body uneasiness. These findings shed light on the underlying key mechanistic processes in body image dissatisfaction and disorders that hold relevant clinical implications in practitioner-based interventions.