Ankara'daki bir doktor popülasyonunda aleksitimi düzeyleri, yaygınlığı ve bunun sosyodemografik bileşenleri

Amaç: Aleksitimi, içsel emosyonel uyaranlardan çok dışsal uyaranların ön planda olduğu bir düşünme biçimidir ve dışsal yönelimli düşünme tarzı ile karakterizedir. Aleksitimi, depresyon ve birçok psikiyatrik bozuklukla ilişkilidir. Ruh sağlığını doğrudan etkileyen bir kavram olmasına rağmen klinik uygulamada önemi nadiren vurgulanmıştır. Doktorlar, psikiyatrik bozukluklar açısından risk altında olan bir popülasyondur. Aleksitimi ve dışsal yönelimli düşünme tarzı, doktorların psikiyatrik sorunlarına etki edebilir. Amacımız doktorlarda aleksitimi düzeyleri ve aleksitiminin sosyodemografik bileşenlerini belirlemektir. Yöntem: Katılımcılar Ankara'daki üç eğitim ve araştırma, bir devlet ve bir üniversite hastanesi olmak üzere toplam beş hastanede çalışan 83 doktordan oluşmuştur. Katılım-cılar Toronto Aleksitimi Ölçeğini (TAÖ-20) ve sosyodemografik anketi tamamlamışlardır. Sonuçlar: Ortalama TAÖ-20 puanı 44.1±6.3 olarak bulundu ve katılımcıların %13.25'inin aleksitimik olduğu görüldü. Ailesinde psikiyat-rik bozukluklu birey olan katılımcıların daha fazla duygularını ifade etme güçlüğü yaşadıkları görüldü. Dışsal yönelimli düşünme tarzı kadın cinsiyet, artan yaş, artan meslek yılı, evli olmak, Türkiye'nin batısında doğmuş ve en uzun süre çalışmış olmakla ilişkili bulunmuştur. Tartışma: Dışsal yönelimli düşünme tarzı depresyon, kültürel değerler ve damgalanma ile ilişkili olabilir. Doktorlar, ruh sağlıklarını koruyabilmeleri amacıyla dışsal yönelimli düşünme tarzlarının farkına varmaları ve bunu tartışabilmeleri açısından cesaretlendirilmelidirler.

Level, prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of alexithymia in a physician population in Ankara

Objective: Alexithymia is a thinking style that emphasizes external stimuli rather than internal emotional experiences, it is characterized by externally oriented thinking (EOT). Alexithymia is associated with depression and many psychiatric disorders. It directly affects mental health but is rarely emphasized in clinical practice. Physi-cians are at risk of psychiatric disorders. Alexithymia and EOT may contribute to their psychiatric problems. Our aim was to examine alexithymia levels and their sociodemographic correlates in a physician population. Meth-ods: Participants were 83 physicians employed in five hospitals (three education and research hospitals, one state hospital and one university hospital) in Ankara. Participants completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results: The mean TAS-20 score was 44.1±6.3 and 13.25% of the participants were found to be alexithymic. Participants with a psychiatric patient in their family were statistically more likely to have difficulty describing their feelings. EOT was associated with female gender, greater age, seniority in the medical profession, being married, and being born and mostly living in the western region of Turkey. Discussion: EOT may be associated with depression, cultural values and stigmatization. Physicians must be encouraged to discuss and be aware of their EOT to maintain their mental health.

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