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@article{195147,
        author = {Sneha Joy and Linta Baby and Deepa Kurian and Sreelakshmi K K and Steby C S and Susa Elson and Theres Mariya Augustine},
        title = {A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY TO ASSESS THE MAGNITUDE OF ALEXITHYMIA AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN ADMITTED IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL, ERNAKULAM, KERALA},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {10},
        pages = {7326-7333},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=195147},
        abstract = {The magnitude of alexithymia refers to the prevalence or severity of alexithymic traits within a particular population. Alexithymia is a personality trait characterized by difficulty in identifying and describing emotion, as well as a limited imagination and an externally oriented thinking style. A study was undertaken by VIIth semester B.Sc. nursing students to assess the magnitude of alexithymia among parents of children admitted in a selected tertiary care hospital, Ernakulam district, Kerala. The objective of the study is to asses to determine the magnitude of alexithymia among parents, and to find the association of magnitude of alexithymia among parentswith selected socio-demographic variables. Thisdescriptive cross-sectional study was done in 150 subjects were selected using convenience sampling technique. The key variables in this study was magnitude of alexithymia and the selected socio demographic variables which include age, parent (father/mother), religion, marital status, education, occupation, area of residence, type of family, monthly family income in rupees, family support, number of children, family history of psychiatric illness, childhood trauma. The tool used for data collection were structured questionnaire for assessing Socio demographic proforma of the parent and standardized questionnaire Modified Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess alexithymia. The results shows that 40% of the parents have Alexithymia, 34.7% have possible alexithymia and 25.3% have no alexithymia. Also the result revealed there was a statistically significant association between magnitude of alexithymia among parents of children with family support and number of children. There is no statistically significant association between magnitude of alexithymia among parents of children with other selected socio-demographic variables such as age, parent, religion, marital status, education, occupation, area of residence, type of family, monthly income in rupees, family history of psychiatric illness, childhood trauma.
Alexithymia is a significant emotional processing trait observed among parents of hospitalized children, characterized by difficulties in identifying and expressing emotions. Understanding the presence and impact of alexithymia in this population is essential for providing appropriate psychological support. Addressing alexithymia may improve emotional well-being and coping mechanisms in parents facing the stress of their child’s hospitalization.},
        keywords = {Alexithymia, Magnitude of alexithymia, Parents of children.},
        month = {March},
        }