Alexithymia and coping strategies among medical students

Introduction University life is stressful for the student, which is characterized by disturbed emotional regulation or alexithymia. To face these stressful events he must use certain coping strategies. Objectives Studying the prevalence of alexithymia and exploring coping strategies among medical students, and establish the relationship between these parameters. Methods It was a cross-sectional study of 97 students in Sfax university medicine (Tunisia). We used: – a questionnaire containing demographic and clinical data; – Toronto alexithymia Scale (TAS-20): a score ≥61 indicates alexithymia; – WCC (Ways of Coping Checklist-r Folkman) with 3 factors: problem-focused, emotion-focused and social support coping. Results The average age of participants was 24.07 years (±2.71); the sex ratio (M/W) was 0.4. They were smoking in 36.1% and sedentary in 43.3% of case. They had a nibbling activity in 57.7%. The average score of TAS-20 was 50. 92 10.46 and alexithymia was found in 16.5% of students. Alexithymia was significantly correlated with smoking ( P  = 0.003) and physical inactivity ( P  = 0.025). Most students (72.2%) opted for problem-focused ways of coping with a highest score at WCC = 29.21. A significant correlation was found between alexithymia and coping strategy with emotion-focused ( P  = 0.02). The TAS score was significantly higher among students who resort to this ways of coping = 26.11. ( P  = 0.002). Conclusion This study explored the role of alexithymia in stress management ubiquitous in university life. A high level of alexithymia could be a detrimental factor in stress management. Psychological support aimed specifically alexithymic dimension is indispensable.