1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«[T]he purpose of the present study is to assess the relationship between a person’s level of alexithymia and their own and their partner’s communication behaviors in situations of couple conflict resolution.» (p. 1018)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«We postulate that, for men and women, high level alexithymia will be associated with fewer positive communication behaviors and greater use of negative communication for both partners.» (p. 1018)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The sample consisted of 75 heterosexual couples (N = 150) where at least one of the partners came from a Quebec francophone university.» (p. 1018)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«The level of alexithymia differed by sex in regards to communication of feelings and externally oriented thinking. Specifically, men seem to have more difficulty communicating their feelings and be more externally oriented in their thinking than women, even though they do not differ in their ability to identify feelings. […] With respect to the association between alexithymia and communication behaviors, sex differences also emerged. For women, no relationship was found between the alexithymia dimensions and their own or their partner’s communication behavior whereas for men, difficulty identifying feelings is associated with their own hostility as well as their female partner’s increased hostility, withdrawal and lower communication skills. Moreover, mediation effects indicate that men’s difficulty identifying feelings is associated with increased hostility, which, in turn, is associated with partner’s communication behaviors.» (p. 1020)