Alexithymia and emotional empathy following traumatic brain injury

@article{Williams2010AlexithymiaAE,
  title={Alexithymia and emotional empathy following traumatic brain injury},
  author={Claire Williams and Rodger Ll. Wood},
  journal={Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology},
  year={2010},
  volume={32},
  pages={259 - 267}
}
  • Claire Williams, R. Wood
  • Published 18 February 2010
  • Psychology
  • Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
The frequency of alexithymia and the proportion of cases reporting low emotional empathy after traumatic brain injury (TBI) were compared with a control group. The study also examined the relationship between alexithymia and emotional empathy, controlling for the influence of cognitive ability, severity of head injury, and time since injury. A total of 64 TBI patients and matched controls completed the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES). The… 
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Highly Influential Citations
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140 Citations

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Alexithymia is associated with aggressive tendencies following traumatic brain injury
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Higher levels of alexithymia are associated with greater aggressive tendencies post-TBI, and the findings offer important theoretical and empirical insights into the prediction of aggression after TBI.
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Alexithymia after TBI increases the risk of affective disturbance and somatization and needs to be identified at an early stage to direct rehabilitation interventions and improve prospects for psychosocial outcome.
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TLDR
The results represent the first to suggest that level of emotional empathy post traumatic brain injury may be associated with behavioral manifestations of disorders of drive and control.
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TLDR
Early screening for alexithymia following TBI might identify those most at risk of developing maladaptive coping mechanisms, which could assist in developing early rehabilitation interventions to reduce vulnerability to later psychological distress.
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Primary objective: Recent research studies attest to the presence of deficits in emotion perception following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Additionally, a growing number of studies report…
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TLDR
The results of this study suggest that increased attention should be directed toward emotional change after TBI, as alexithymia may mediate the development of worthlessness and, in turn, increase the risk of SI.
Sex differences in emotional insight after traumatic brain injury.
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