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Nervenheilkunde 2016; 35(07/08): 485-491
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1616411
Trauma
Schattauer GmbH

Alexithymie bei der Borderline-Persönlichkeitsstörung

Zusammenhang mit frühen aversiven ErfahrungenAlexytyhmia in Borderline Personality Disorder – Links to early aversive experiencesConnection with early aversive experiences
A. Ebert
1   LWL-Universitätsklinikum Bochum der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie und Präventivmedizin, Forschungsabteilung für kognitive Neuropsychiatrie und psychiatrische Präventivmedizin
,
M.-A. Edel
2   Fliedner Klinik Gevelsberg
,
M. Brüne
1   LWL-Universitätsklinikum Bochum der Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychotherapie und Präventivmedizin, Forschungsabteilung für kognitive Neuropsychiatrie und psychiatrische Präventivmedizin
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Further Information

Publication History

eingegangen am: 16 February 2016

angenommen am: 27 May 2016

Publication Date:
31 January 2018 (online)

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Zusammenfassung

Gegenstand und Ziel: Alexithymie, also Defizite einer Person, die eigenen Gefühle wahrzunehmen und zu kommunizieren, stellt ein häufiges Symptom bei Patienten mit Borderline-Persönlichkeitsstörung (BPS) dar. Viele Patienten haben frühkindliche traumatische Erlebnisse wie emotionale Vernachlässigung oder Missbrauch erlebt. Die Zusammenhänge aversiver Erfahrungen mit Alexithymie sind aber bisher kaum untersucht. Material und Methoden: 80 BPS-Patienten wurden mit einer Kontrollgruppe von 49 gesunden Probanden verglichen. Als Testverfahren wurden die Toronto-Alexithymie-Skala (TAS-20), das Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) und der Fragebogen zum erinnerten elterlichen Erziehungsverhalten (FEE) eingesetzt. Ergebnisse: Die BPS-Gruppe hatte hochsignifikant höhere Alexithymie-Werte im TAS-20 als die Kontrollgruppe; dies galt ebenso für die Belastungen durch frühkindliche Traumata und Unterschiede bezüglich des erinnerten elterlichen Erziehungsverhaltens. Dabei zeigte sich eine Korrelation von Alexithymie mit erlebtem emotionalem Missbrauch sowie erinnerter „Kontrolle und Überbehütung“ durch beide Elternteile. Schlussfolgerung und klinische Relevanz: Alexithymie ist bei der BPS ein häufiges Symptom. Ein Zusammenhang mit frühen aversiven Erfahrungen ist anzunehmen, bedarf aber weiterer Studien, insbesondere unter Einbeziehung des Bindungsstils. Dies könnte Implikationen für eine individuellere und differenziertere Psychotherapie haben.

Summary

Objective: Alexithymia, i. e. difficulties in experiencing and communicating one’s feelings, is a frequent symptom in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Many patients describe traumatic childhood experiences (e. g. emotional neglect or abuse), yet possible connections between alexithymia and early adversity have barely been examined. Material and methods: Eighty patients diagnosed with BPD were compared to a control group consisting of 49 healthy subjects. Alexithymia was measured using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), adversity was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and a questionnaire tapping into subjects’ subjective ratings of parental upbringing. Results: TAS-20 scores were significantly higher in the BPD group compared to healthy controls; BPD patients reported more early childhood trauma and problems related to their parents’ upbringing style. Alexithymia was correlated with emotional abuse and with biparental “control and overprotection”. Conclusion and clinical relevance: Alexithymia is common in BPD patients. Although a connection to aversive early experiences seems likely, further studies which also examine attachment styles are needed. This might have implications for more individually orientated and more differentiated psychotherapeutic interventions.

Schlüsselwörter

Borderline-Persönlichkeitsstörung - Alexithymie - frühkindliche Traumatisierung - elterliches Erziehungsverhalten

Keywords

Borderline Personality Disorder - alexithymia - childhood trauma - upbringing
 

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