Alexithymia and personality aspects in patients with panic disorder and/or Major Depressive Disorder and the relationship between these aspects and the childhood traumas of the patients

The present study aims to understand the relationship between alexithymia and personality in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and/or panic disorder (PD) in the context of childhood traumas. The total sample of the study consists of 161 people. The patient group consists of 103 people, 50 with MDD, and 53 with PD. The control group consists of 58 healthy people. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Abbreviated Form (EPQR-A), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were given to all participants. Results show that people in the patient groups have more alexithymic than the people in the control group. However, no differences were found between MDD patients and PD patients in terms of their alexithymia scores. In line with previous research, the correlational analysis revealed that there was a relationship between alexithymia and childhood trauma, MDD and childhood trauma, and neuroticism and childhood trauma in the patient groups. Keywords: Alexithymia, Major depressive disorder, Panic disorder, Childhood traumas, Personality