The impact of family alexithymia on the severity of restrictive eating disorders in adolescent patients

Introduction

This database includes the raw data linked with the paper “The impact of family alexithymia on the severity of restrictive eating disorders in adolescent patients”. The study aimed to explore the correlation between levels of alexithymia in mothers and fathers of adolescents affected by REDs and patients’ capability to recognize their own emotions. The study also aimed to evaluate if patients’ emotional distress can have a significant impact on the severity of the disorder measured by the Clinical Global Impression Scale - Severity (CGI-S) and the Children’s Global Assessment Scale (CGAS).

The dataset includes mothers, fathers and patients’ TAS-20 scores and subscales, diagnoses, and CGI-S and CGAS scores.

Methods

Sixty-seven families of adolescents affected by REDs were enlisted in the present study. Parents and patients’ levels of alexithymia were assessed by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). We measured severity through CGI-S and functioning using CGAS.

Results (in brief)

This study shows a statistically significant correlation between mothers and patients’ levels of alexithymia. Fathers and mothers’ TAS scores correlate with each other. There is not a statistically significant relationship between the influence of the TAS scores of fathers and sons/daughters. In conclusion, mothers’ level of alexithymia could influence both fathers and patients’ difficulty in identifying and describing their own emotions. This relationship can be explored in more detail considering externally oriented thinking. Patients’ alexithymia levels do not influence the eating disorder severity based on CGI-S and CGAS.