Analysis of the relevance between alexithmia and childhood trauma and attachment styles of the women who applied to psychological counseling center

The main purpose of the research is analyzing the relation between childhood trauma, adult attachments and alexithymia. Moreover, it is also researched whether forms of childhood trauma and the levels of alexithymia differ according to the demographic characteristics of women presenting to the clinic. The sample of the study consisted of 114 women who applied to the Psychological Counseling Center. Childhood Mental Trauma Scale (CTQ); Inventory of Experiences in Close Relationships-II (YİYE-II); Toronto Alexithymia Scale-TAS-20 (Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and Demographic Information Forms were used on collecting data for the study. Analysis of the study has been done by using IBM SPSS 23 program. In addition, correlation analysis was performed to determine whether there was a relationship between the variables. In order to determine whether the trauma of childhood trauma, attachment styles and alexithymia levels in adulthood differ according to the demographic characteristics of the participants, independent sample t test was used for two-categorical variables and one-way analysis of variance for three and more categorical variables. As a result of the study, it was concluded that there were statistically significant positive relationships between childhood trauma, attachment styles and alexithymia levels in adulthood. Childhood trauma, adulthood attachment patterns and sub-dimensions of alexithymia scales were found to have high correlations among themselves. Childhood trauma, adulthood attachment styles and alexithymia levels of the women presenting to the clinic vary according to the psychiatric diagnoses they have already received. While the attachment styles of women in adulthood vary according to their educational background, alexithymia levels differ according to their working status. Keywords: Childhood trauma, Attachment styles, Alexithmia