Prevalence and associated factors of alexithymia among medical students: A cross-sectional study from Saudi Arabia
Mohammed A Aljaffer, Ahmad H. Almadani, Saleh A. Alghamdi, Ibrahim M. Alabdulkarim, Mohammed A Albabtain, Rayed M. Altameem, Abdulrahman Almugren, Abdulaziz F. Alomairy, Abdulaziz A. Alghofaily
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of alexithymia and its associated factors among medical students at King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at KSU, including 420 medical students from all years of medical college (i.e., first to the fifth year), by using an electronic questionnaire distributed during August 2021. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic-related questions and the 20-item Toronto alexithymia scale (a validated scale in the literature). RESULTS: =0.006), and lack of physical activity were associated with alexithymia. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of alexithymia among medical students at KSU was significantly higher than general population in literatures. It was indicated in the results that being female, having a psychiatric condition or history of childhood abuse, and lack of physical activity were all associated with alexithymia. We recommend increasing awareness of and screening for alexithymia and its associated factors among medical students.