Alexithymia and its Relationship with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Women with Breast Cancer

Abstract

This study aimed to detect the level of alexithymia and post-traumatic stress disorder in breast cancer patients and to find a relationship between them. The study sample consisted of (70) breast cancer patients who visit King Abdullah University Hospital. The results did not show differences of alexithymia among breast cancer patients due to variables: educational level, marital status, employment status, and there were differences due to the effect of age. The results also indicated there were differences in PTSD among breast cancer patients due to the variables: age, functional status, and there were differences attributed to the variables: marital status in the field of traumatic experience recovery, and educational level in the arousal field. The results also showed the existence of a statistically significant positive relationship between the alexithymia scale and its domains and between the PTSD scale and its domains.