Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Cottrell, Catherine

Keywords

Alexithymia, Psychological Defenses, Psychological Maturity

Area of Concentration

Psychology

Abstract

A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the association between alexithymia and psychological defensiveness, and to assess the moderating influence of the psychological maturity reflected in the defense type indexed by each effect size included in the analyses. An exhaustive search of the literature using database, forwards, and backwards searches yielded a total sample of 22 studies that contributed 60 independent effect sizes. Analyses using both fixed-effects and random-effects models obtained moderate positive associations between alexithymia and overall defensiveness as well as neurotic defenses, a strong positive association for immature defenses, and a moderate negative association for mature defenses. These findings held when the three defense styles corresponding to maturity level were analyzed separately. Moderator analyses indicated that participant diagnostic classification and defense style maturity both influenced the magnitude of the effect between alexithymia and defensiveness. These findings are consistent with previous literature in which alexithymia is thought to involve defensive operations that reflect low levels of psychic maturity. Limitations—such as non-independence of effect sizes and the validity of self-report measures of alexithymia and defensiveness—and suggestions for future research are discussed.

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