Reflective functioning and Alexithymia as mediators between attachment and psychopathology symptoms: cross-sectional evidence in a community sample

ABSTRACT

This study sought to examine the role of Reflective Functioning and Alexithymia as mediators in the association between Attachment and Psychopathology. Questionnaires were administered to 1099 adults aged between 18 and 30 years. Results showed relations between Attachment Anxiety, Reflective Functioning, Alexithymia and Psychopathology. Moreover, Alexithymia was a mediator between Attachment, Reflective Functioning and Psychopathology.

Current results provided evidence of the role of both Reflective Functioning and Alexithymia in the relationship between Attachment and Psychopathology. Implications are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Attachment
• reflective functioning
• Alexithymia
• psychopathology

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Compliance with ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the local internal ethics committee of the University of Messina and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Data availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual adult participants included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.