Alexithymia mediates the pathway from negative life events to somatic symptoms

A cross-sectional study in a psychosomatic outpatient sample

Bibliographic Data

ID15519063
AuthorsJunjie Chen (0000-0003-4869-2010, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College), Dandan Ma (0000-0001-9663-1832, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College), Jinya Cao (0000-0002-4318-2380, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, corresponding author), Jing Wei (0000-0001-8167-9075, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume16
Pages1680463-1680463
Publication date2026-01-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1664-0640 • E-ISSN: 1664-0640
PublisherFrontiers Media (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1680463
PMID41601504
OpenAlexW7122596133
LanguageEN
References cited14

Alexithymia significantly mediates the relationship between NLEs and somatic symptoms in psychosomatic outpatients, though its effect size (16.25%) suggests additional multifactorial pathways. Conversely, NLEs also partially mediate the alexithymia-symptom relationship, indicating complex bidirectional dynamics. Clinically, interventions targeting both alexithymia and NLE exposure may alleviate somatic symptom burden

Affect (linguistics · Alexithymia · Large sample · Psychological intervention · Psychosomatics · Somatic cell · Young adult · Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments · Traumatic Brain Injury Research

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