Investigation of the relationship between obsessive beliefs and alexithymia in adult individuals

Understanding the variables that affect obsessive beliefs is important in the process of determining clinical interventions to be applied to adult individuals. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the levels of alexithemia and obsessive beliefs of adult individuals. January-March 2020, the research data was collected. The study sample consisted of 350 participants including 246 male and 104 female students between the ages of 18-26, determined by random sample selection, who studied undergraduates in Istanbul. Demographic data form, Toronto alexithymia scale and obsessive beliefs scale were applied to the participants in the study. In the descriptive statistics analysis of the study, it was concluded that the sample group had an average level of obsessive beliefs and they are described as not alexithymic. As a result of the study, the total score of the Toronto alexithymia scale and the total score of the obsessive beliefs scale were found to be significantly higher in positive terms. It was observed that the lower dimensions of the Toronto alexithymia scale, difficulty in recognizing emotions, difficulty in expressing emotions, and outward thinking had a significant effect on obsessive beliefs, and these variables accounted for 49% of obsessive beliefs. A positive high intensity correlation was found between the total score of the Toronto alexithymia scale and the total scores of the responsibility/danger expectation sub dimension, the perfectionism/certainty sub dimension, the importance/control of thoughts sub dimension. A positive moderate correlation was found between the difficulty in defining emotions and the total score of obsessive beliefs scale, the responsibility/danger expectation and the perfectionism/certainty score, and the importance/control of thoughts score. The aim of the study is to shed light on the research and clinical studies on alexithymia and obsessive beliefs. Key words: Alexithemia, obsessive beliefs, University student