PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE Alexithymia refers to reduced emotional awareness and is associated with higher levels of burden and disability in adults with chronic pain. Limited research has examined alexithymia in adolescents with chronic pain. The current study aimed to (a) determine whether alexithymia was higher in adolescents with (vs. without) chronic pain and (b) examine the relationship between alexithymia and pain experiences in youth. Research Method/Design: We assessed alexithymia in 22 adolescents with chronic pain and in 22 adolescents without chronic pain (otherwise healthy), and its relation to pain experiences (i.e., self-reported pain intensity, pain bothersomeness, and pain interference), while controlling for the concomitant effects of psychological distress (i.e., depressive and anxiety symptoms). RESULTS After controlling for psychological distress, adolescents with versus without chronic pain had higher total alexithymia scores (p = .042; η2 = .10), and specifically, greater difficulty identifying feelings (p = .001; η2 = .23). Difficulty identifying feelings was related to worse pain interference (r = .55; p = .015) and pain bothersomeness (r = .55; p = .015). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS These preliminary findings suggest that adolescents with chronic pain may have greater difficulty identifying their emotions, and that this might be related to increased pain interference and pain bothersomeness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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有和没有慢性疼痛的青少年述情障碍。

目的/目的述情障碍是指情绪意识降低，与慢性疼痛成人的负担和残疾水平较高有关。有限的研究调查了患有慢性疼痛的青少年的述情障碍。目前的研究旨在（a）确定患有（与没有）慢性疼痛的青少年述情障碍是否更高，以及（b）检查述情障碍与青少年疼痛经历之间的关系。研究方法/设计：我们评估了 22 名患有慢性疼痛的青少年和 22 名没有慢性疼痛的青少年（其他方面健康）的述情障碍及其与疼痛体验的关系（即，自我报告的疼痛强度、疼痛困扰和疼痛干扰），同时控制心理困扰的伴随影响（即抑郁和焦虑症状）。结果 在控制了心理困扰后，有慢性疼痛的青少年与没有慢性疼痛的青少年相比，有更高的述情障碍总分（p = .042；η2 = .10），具体来说，识别情绪的难度更大（p = .001；η2 = .23）。难以识别感觉与更严重的疼痛干扰（r = .55；p = .015）和疼痛困扰（r = .55；p = .015）有关。结论/意义 这些初步发现表明，患有慢性疼痛的青少年可能更难以识别自己的情绪，这可能与疼痛干扰和疼痛困扰增加有关。（PsycINFO 数据库记录 (c) 2019 APA，保留所有权利）。η2 = .23）。难以识别感觉与更严重的疼痛干扰（r = .55；p = .015）和疼痛困扰（r = .55；p = .015）有关。结论/意义 这些初步发现表明，患有慢性疼痛的青少年可能更难以识别自己的情绪，这可能与疼痛干扰和疼痛困扰增加有关。（PsycINFO 数据库记录 (c) 2019 APA，保留所有权利）。η2 = .23）。难以识别感觉与更严重的疼痛干扰（r = .55；p = .015）和疼痛困扰（r = .55；p = .015）有关。结论/意义 这些初步发现表明，患有慢性疼痛的青少年可能更难以识别自己的情绪，这可能与疼痛干扰和疼痛困扰增加有关。（PsycINFO 数据库记录 (c) 2019 APA，保留所有权利）。