Comparative study of alexithymia in institutionalized elderly versus senior classroom

Experience and emotion regulation are issues that are increasingly important in order to understand and promote the welfare and quality of life of elderly. The aim of this study was to conduct a comparative study of the alexithymia in users in an institutionalized center and students enrolled in a senior classroom. Study participants were 43 people hospitalized and 48 from the senior older with an average age of 69.30 years and a standard deviation of 66.50. The instrument used was the adapted version of the TAS-20. The results showed that institutionalized people scored higher on the difficulty in identifying feelings, difficulty in describing feelings and in the pattern of externally-oriented thinking. Sex was indifferent to the difficulty in identifying feelings, difficulty in describing feelings as well as externally-oriented pattern. In terms of age, a relationship was found with the difficulty in identifying feelings and externally oriented thought patterns. The study allows us to conclude that alexithymia is influenced by the fact that the elderly person is in an institutionalized center.