Dysfunctional relationship beliefs as gendered predictors of alexithymia in Turkish cultural context

Abstract

The present research investigated the relationship between dysfunctional relationship beliefs (DRB) and alexithymia with a particular focus on gender among Turkish college students. Results indicated that different DRB predicts alexithymia in females and males. Intimacy avoidance predicted an increase of alexithymia scores in females, whereas intimacy avoidance and unrealistic relationship expectations predicted an increase of alexithymia scores in males. The results highlighted the association of intimacy avoidance with difficulty identifying and describing feelings in both genders, stronger in males when compared to other two DRB, namely unrealistic relationship expectations and mind reading. The results suggested that alexithymia is related to different forms of DRB in females and males, indicating potential intervention strategies and patterns in females' and males' alexithymia.