Investigation of anxiety, depression, social isolation and somatization according to the levels of alexithymia in seafarers

The aim of this study is to examine the anxiety, depression, social isolation and somatization of seafarers according to their alexithymia levels and the differentiation of these variables according to demographic variables. For this purpose, data were collected from a total of 137 seafarers, 25 women and 112 men. Demographic and Occupational Information Form, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Social Isolation Scale, the Somatization Scale and Interview Form were used to obtain information from seafarers. Kruskal-Wallis Test was used to examine scores according to alexithymia levels, Mann Whitney U Test was used according to demographic variables, and Spearman Correlation Analysis was used to examine industry-specific variables and scores. As a result of the analysis, it was observed that the rate of alexithymia in seafarers was higher than the general population and the scores of anxiety, depression, social isolation and somatization differed according to the levels of alexithymia, and the highest score belonged to the pure alexithymic level group. While the scores differed according to gender, marital status, presence of children, and the presence of a history of psychological support, it does not differ according to the state of being in cruising and the interior of the ship. Female seafarers score higher than men, singles score higher than married seafarers, those without children score higher than those with children, and those with a history of psychological support score higher than those without. Considering the relationship between the scores and the industry-specific variables, while the scores decrease with the increase in age, sector years, and total months of service, there is no relationship with the duration of the cruise per year. When the relationship between sector-specific variables and alexithymia levels was analyzed, it was seen that there was a relationship only in the no alexithymia level group. The findings were discussed within the framework of the information in the literature.