Alessitimia e strategie di autoregolazione: Una rassegna sistematica.

Alexithymia is a complex, multidimensional and transdiagnostic construct whose aetiological-explanatory aspects are still not fully understood. The main hypotheses relate to a structural deficit or a dysfunctional process. This paper aims is to explore the relationship between alexithymia and self-regulation in order to identify the underlying mechanisms and the possible influence that such strategies may have in crystallising alexithymic traits. Method: a systematic review was performed following the PRISMA statement. The keywords - «Alexithymia » AND («coping» OR «coping strateg*» OR «COPE» OR «emotion regulation strateg*» OR «ERQ») NOT «psychopathology» NOT «neuroscience» - were run on the EBSCOhost database. Based on eligibility criteria, nine articles were selected and included. Results: alexithymic and non-alexithymic subjects tend to use different self-regulation strategies. Alexithymia seems to be positively associated with expressive suppression and, on the contrary, negatively associated with cognitive reappraisal. Moreover, self-regulation strategies based on avoidance and experiential avoidance seem to predict alexithymia dimensions. Conclusion: the identified self-regulation pattern is associated with greater emotional difficulties and lower levels of well-being. Although it is not possible to draw causal conclusions because of the cross-sectional nature of the studies, the importance of subjective self-regulation processes in association with alexithymia has emerged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]