The Relationship Between Alexithymia and Parental Styles, Socioeconomic Status, Family Size, and Gender

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the relationship between alexithymia and parental styles, socio-economic status, family size, and gender, among undergraduate sample from college of educational sciences, at the University of Jordan, consisted of (260) students (28 male, 232 female), selected randomly by sections. To achieve the study aims, the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and Perception of Parents Scale (POP) were applied, after verifying their validity and reliability. Results of the study revealed significant negative correlations between alexithymia and parental styles, as a total score and as sub scores of subscales. Also, there were significant negative correlation between alexithymia and family income. Yet, no significant correlations were found between alexithymia with family size, father’s education and mother’s education. Results also revealed statistically significant differences in alexithymia due to family income, in favor of those who have high income compared to low income. Nevertheless, no statistically significant differences in alexithymia were found due to gender, family size, father’s education and mother’s education. Furthermore, stepwise regression analyses revealed that parental practices styles for the mother, parental practices styles for the father, and family income explained (47%) of the variance in alexithymia