Experiencing childhood maltreatment has been shown to have major implications on adult outcomes. Less is known about the outcomes of childhood emotional neglect (CEN). The purpose of this study was to identify factors related to psychological outcomes of CEN within the domains of depression, anxiety, and alexithymia as a precursor to the development of an inventory. One hundred and fifty participant responses on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) were collected. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted where nine factors yielded significant results and were titled, “Depressive Symptoms,” “Difficulty Identifying Feelings,” “Usefulness of Feelings,” “Difficulty Describing Feelings,” “Psychosomatic Symptoms,” “Reduced Physical Activation,” “Avoidance of Symbolism in Entertainment Preferences,” “Externality,” and “Anxiety Symptoms,” respectively. This study augments prior literature regarding CEN to demonstrate constructs such as the belief in the usefulness of feelings in problem solving (Factor 3), avoiding entertainment that may have deeper meanings (Factor 7), and an avoidance of engaging in introspection (Factor 8). These results demonstrate that outcomes of CEN may be more complex than previously understood.
","abstract_html":"<p>Experiencing childhood maltreatment has been shown to have major implications on adult outcomes. Less is known about the outcomes of childhood emotional neglect (CEN). The purpose of this study was to identify factors related to psychological outcomes of CEN within the domains of depression, anxiety, and alexithymia as a precursor to the development of an inventory. One hundred and fifty participant responses on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) were collected. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted where nine factors yielded significant results and were titled, “Depressive Symptoms,” “Difficulty Identifying Feelings,” “Usefulness of Feelings,” “Difficulty Describing Feelings,” “Psychosomatic Symptoms,” “Reduced Physical Activation,” “Avoidance of Symbolism in Entertainment Preferences,” “Externality,” and “Anxiety Symptoms,” respectively. This study augments prior literature regarding CEN to demonstrate constructs such as the belief in the usefulness of feelings in problem solving (Factor 3), avoiding entertainment that may have deeper meanings (Factor 7), and an avoidance of engaging in introspection (Factor 8). These results demonstrate that outcomes of CEN may be more complex than previously understood.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Levitt, Taylor"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Clinical Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Christopher Rector, Ph.D.","Kristen Carney-Newberry, Psy.D.","Audra Marks, Psy.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:05Z","subjects":["childhood emotional neglect","exploratory factor analysis","outcomes","Child Psychology","Clinical Psychology","Developmental Psychology","Quantitative Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/631","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Christopher Rector, Ph.D.","Kristen Carney-Newberry, Psy.D.","Audra Marks, Psy.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Levitt, Taylor"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-03-02T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Clinical Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["childhood emotional neglect","exploratory factor analysis","outcomes","Child Psychology","Clinical Psychology","Developmental Psychology","Quantitative Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/631"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Experiencing childhood maltreatment has been shown to have major implications on adult outcomes. Less is known about the outcomes of childhood emotional neglect (CEN). The purpose of this study was to identify factors related to psychological outcomes of CEN within the domains of depression, anxiety, and alexithymia as a precursor to the development of an inventory. One hundred and fifty participant responses on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) were collected. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted where nine factors yielded significant results and were titled, “Depressive Symptoms,” “Difficulty Identifying Feelings,” “Usefulness of Feelings,” “Difficulty Describing Feelings,” “Psychosomatic Symptoms,” “Reduced Physical Activation,” “Avoidance of Symbolism in Entertainment Preferences,” “Externality,” and “Anxiety Symptoms,” respectively. This study augments prior literature regarding CEN to demonstrate constructs such as the belief in the usefulness of feelings in problem solving (Factor 3), avoiding entertainment that may have deeper meanings (Factor 7), and an avoidance of engaging in introspection (Factor 8). These results demonstrate that outcomes of CEN may be more complex than previously understood.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Evaluating Outcome Factors of Childhood Emotional Neglect: An Exploratory Factor Analysis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Christopher Rector, Ph.D.","Kristen Carney-Newberry, Psy.D.","Audra Marks, Psy.D."],"dc:creator":["Levitt, Taylor"],"dc:date.available":["2022-03-02T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Experiencing childhood maltreatment has been shown to have major implications on adult outcomes. Less is known about the outcomes of childhood emotional neglect (CEN). The purpose of this study was to identify factors related to psychological outcomes of CEN within the domains of depression, anxiety, and alexithymia as a precursor to the development of an inventory. One hundred and fifty participant responses on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) were collected. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted where nine factors yielded significant results and were titled, “Depressive Symptoms,” “Difficulty Identifying Feelings,” “Usefulness of Feelings,” “Difficulty Describing Feelings,” “Psychosomatic Symptoms,” “Reduced Physical Activation,” “Avoidance of Symbolism in Entertainment Preferences,” “Externality,” and “Anxiety Symptoms,” respectively. This study augments prior literature regarding CEN to demonstrate constructs such as the belief in the usefulness of feelings in problem solving (Factor 3), avoiding entertainment that may have deeper meanings (Factor 7), and an avoidance of engaging in introspection (Factor 8). These results demonstrate that outcomes of CEN may be more complex than previously understood.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/631"],"dc:subject":["childhood emotional neglect","exploratory factor analysis","outcomes","Child Psychology","Clinical Psychology","Developmental Psychology","Quantitative Psychology"],"dc:title":["Evaluating Outcome Factors of Childhood Emotional Neglect: An Exploratory Factor Analysis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Clinical Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Psy.D. Doctor of Clinical Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:05Z"}