Alexithymia and hedonic capacity

The relationship between alexithymia and hedonic capacity was examined in a sample of 119 college students as well as in a sample of 54 married individuals. Subjects completed self-report measures of hedonic capacity, alexithymia. and depression and negative affect. The results indicated that difficulty identifying and communicating one′s emotions was consistently associated with a diminished capacity to experience pleasure in social, but not physical, situations. Alexithymia and social hedonic capacity continued to be related when variance shared with depression or negative affect was removed from the relationship. The implications of these results for our understanding of alexithymia are discussed.