Investigating the Relationship between Alexithymia and Psychosomatic Complaints in University Students

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between alexithymia and psychosomatic complaints in university students.Method: This descriptive-correlational research was conducted using structural equation modeling. The statistical population comprised all students of the Islamic Azad University, Shiraz Branch, in the academic year ۲۰۲۴-۲۰۲۵, from which ۲۶۰ individuals were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. Participants responded to the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-۲۰; Bagby et al., ۱۹۹۴) and the Psychosomatic Complaints Scale (Takata & Sakata, ۲۰۰۴). Data analysis was performed using SPSS version ۲۷ and Smart-PLS software.Findings: The results of structural equation modeling indicated that the conceptual model of the research had a good fit. The standardized path coefficient between alexithymia and psychosomatic complaints was ۰.۳۹۵ (P < ۰.۰۱), indicating a positive and significant relationship between these two variables. Furthermore, alexithymia was able to explain ۵۰.۳% of the variance in psychosomatic complaints among students.Conclusion: The findings of this study show that alexithymia, as a significant risk factor, plays a determining role in predicting psychosomatic complaints in university students. This result emphasizes the necessity of designing educational interventions in the field of emotion regulation and increasing emotional literacy for students.

کلیدواژه ها:

Alexithymia ، Psychosomatic complaints ، University students ، Structural equation modeling