The Relations Among Culture, Parental Socialization of Emotions, and Alexithymia

I examined the relations among culture, retrospective reports of parental socialization of emotions (PSE), and alexithymia. Participants were European American (EA) and Asian American (AA) college students. Alexithymia was measured using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Identification and Communication of Emotions Scale. PSE was measured retrospectively using two questionnaires and an interview designed for this study. As predicted, culture was associated with alexithymia, with Asian Americans reporting higher levels of alexithymia than did European Americans. Similarly, culture was associated with PSE. Compared to EA parents, AA parents were less likely to display physical affection and to verbalize positive emotions. There was a weak trend for AA parents to use more avoidance in unpleasant situations relative to EA parents. PSE was also associated with alexithymia. The most important finding was that PSE mediated the relationship between culture and the ability to identify and communicate emotions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Le, Huynh-Nhu

Contributors dc:contributor

• Berenbaum, Howard

• Psychology, Personality

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9812671

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/82225