The current study investigated interactions in Dutch adolescents (N = 160, M age = 15.45) between alexithymia, self-concept clarity, and emotional regulation, as well as gender differences, using...Show moreThe current study investigated interactions in Dutch adolescents (N = 160, M age = 15.45) between alexithymia, self-concept clarity, and emotional regulation, as well as gender differences, using data from the first time-point of a longitudinal study. Participants completed the Alexithymia questionnaire for children (AQC), self-concept clarity scale (SCC), and strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). Results showed a negative relationship between self-concept clarity and alexithymia. In addition, the relationship between self-concept clarity and emotional regulation was partially mediated by alexithymia, and this effect was stronger in females than males. Females demonstrated better emotional regulation, but contrarily to prior research, no significant gender differences were identified in alexithymia or self-concept clarity. In this study, the complexity of these psychological constructs is highlighted, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions for improving adolescent emotional regulation and self-concept clarity. Developing a better understanding of emotional disorders and improving adolescent mental health through further research into gender differences and alexithymia-focused interventions could be beneficial.Show less
Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by affective, interpersonal, and behavioural problems. The current study aims to examine the role of psychopaths’ emotional deficiencies in their...Show morePsychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by affective, interpersonal, and behavioural problems. The current study aims to examine the role of psychopaths’ emotional deficiencies in their moral reasoning. We hypothesized that psychopathy severity predicts utilitarian decisions (1), empathy (2), and alexithymia (3) and that the relationship between psychopathy severity and utilitarian decision-making is mediated by empathy (4) and alexithymia (5). A total of 20 PCL-R confirmed psychopaths psychiatric inpatients were recruited from five different psychiatric hospitals in the Netherlands. Empathy and alexithymia were measured using the IRI and TAS-20 questionnaires. Each participant was shown 12 fictional moral dilemmas to which a utilitarian (greater good-sacrificial) or deontological (harm-avoiding) action had to be chosen. Contrary to expectations (1), results showed that psychopathy severity was negatively related to utilitarian decision-making (β = -.49, p = .030), with higher PCL-R scores reflecting lower percentages of utilitarian decisions on moral dilemmas. All other hypotheses were not supported, as psychopathy severity was not related to any empathy subscale (2) β ranging from <∣.01∣ to ∣.35∣, p > .05) or alexithymia subscale (3) (β ranging from ∣.16∣ to ∣.30∣, p > .05), and no mediation effects were found for either empathy (4) (β ranging from <∣.01∣ to ∣.23∣, BCIs contain 0) or alexithymia (5) (β ranging from ∣.01∣ to ∣.04∣, BCIs contain 0). A possible explanation for the contradictory finding that higher scoring psychopaths make fewer utilitarian decisions is the study setting. Despite the study data being used solely for academic purposes, participants might feel a need to ‘’fake good’’ to nonetheless avoid any negative evaluations that might affect their sentence. Furthermore, the inability to detect any mediative effects might be due to the current studies limited sample size. This made it unfeasible for analyses to differentiate the variables psychopathy and moral reasoning into potentially meaningful subcategories. Future studies should examine how these subcategories relate to moral decision-making. Additionally, it is recommended to make further efforts to minimize the perceived need to fake good, to further investigate the counterintuitive finding that higher scoring psychopaths display more harm-avoiding moral reasoning than lower scoring psychopaths.Show less
