The relationships among childhood maltreatment, alexithymia, social avoidance, and social support.

This study evaluated a causal model of the relationships among childhood maltreatment, alexithymia, social avoidance, limited social support, and dissatisfaction with social support. The model was evaluated separately for physical and emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. Undergraduate students (n = 204) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems, and Social Support Questionnaire. Variables in the model were intercorrelated, and analyses suggested mechanisms through which they were related. More severely maltreated individuals tended to be more socially avoidant and less satisfied with their social support partly because of difficulties identifying and describing their emotions. Comparisons between models suggested that different types of maltreatment have different effects on interpersonal functioning.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2001 .T87. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 40-06, page: 1621. Adviser: Sandra Paivio. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2001.