Relation of alexithymia with ego defense styles

In this study the relationship between alexithymia and ego defense styles was investigated in a sample of students. The aim of this study was to examine the kind of association exist among alexithymia and its three components including difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally oriented thinking with ego defense styles including mature, neurotic, and immature defense styles. Two hundreds and eighty six students (135 boys, 151 girls) from the Tehran University were included in this study. All participants were asked to complete Farsi version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (FTAS-20) and Defense Styles Questionnaire (DSQ). Analysis of the data involved both descriptive and inferential statistics including means, standard deviations, multivariate analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and regression analysis. Alexithymia showed a significant negative association with mature defense style (P< 0.001) as well as a significant positive association with neurotic and immature defense styles (P< 0.001). It can be concluded that alexithymia is associated with ego defense mechanisms.