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Alexithymia, Fear of Bodily Sensations, and Somatosensory Amplification in Young Outpatients With Panic Disorder

Received January 12, 2006; revised April 3, 2006; accepted April 11, 2006. From the Dept. of Oncology and Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, University "G. d’Annunzio" of Chieti, Italy; the Mental Health Service, Mental Health Dept., Teramo, Italy; the Mental Health Service, ASUR Marche 8, Civitanova Marche (MC), Italy; and the Institute of Psychology, University of Urbino, Italy. Send correspondence and reprint requests to Filippo Maria Ferro, M.D., Dept. of Oncology and Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, University "G. D’Annunzio" of Chieti, Palazzina SE.BI., Scuole di Specializzazione, via dei Vestini, 31-66013 Chieti Italy. e-mail: dodebera{at}aliceposta.it

To elucidate the relationships between alexithymia, fear of bodily sensations, and somatosensory amplification in young patients with panic disorder (PD), authors evaluated 84 patients. Measures were the Panic Attack and Anticipatory Anxiety Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS–20), the Body Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ), the Somatosensory Amplification Scale, the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire (ACQ), and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Alexithymic patients showed higher scores on all rating scales. Higher BSQ and ACQ scores, together with the Difficulty in Identifying Feelings and Difficulty in Describing Feelings subscales of the TAS–20 were predictors of severity of PD. Results of the present study do not support a direct role of somatosensory amplification in PD. Authors discuss study limitations and future research needs.

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