Alexithymia and dyadic coping: when similarity might be better than complementarity

Abstract

Background: Recent studies investigated alexithymia in couples and showed its association with less marital satisfaction. The aim of this research was to explore effects of alexithymia on dyadic coping, which is the way partners deal with stress. Methods: We recruited 112 heterosexual couples (mean age 35.1, mean couple duration 11.6 years). We compared 4 groups (1 = both partners without alexithymia, 2 = husband with alexithymia, 3 = wife with alexithymia, 4 = both partners with alexithymia). Results: No group differences were found. We confirmed previous gender effects in dyadic coping: women higher for stress communication and emotional common coping, men higher for instrumental and negative coping. Interaction effects showed highest differences within the couples in group 2 and 3: partners with alexithymia reported higher negative coping and lower positive coping compared to partner without alexithymia. Discussion: Couples with one partner having alexithymia show more difficulties in dyadic coping compared to couples with similar level of alexithymia. Further research is needed to understand better the benefits and disadvantages of similarity or complementarity of each partner’s alexithymia.