The level of ruminative thought and alexithymia of people in the covid-19 pandemic process

Abstract

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic process caused many physiological and psychological effects on individuals. This study aims to examine the ruminative thinking and alexithymia levels of people in the COVID-19 pandemic process. Methods: The descriptive, cross-sectional, and the correlational designed study was conducted with 852 people in stanbul\ Turkey during the COVID-19 pandemic process between March and May 2020. The data of the research was collected with the Sociodemographic Form Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire. Results: It was found that the average of ruminative thought score of the people was 92.49 19.89 and the alexithymia score average was 71.76 13.70. A positive and significant relationship was found between the Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and subscale scores (p0.05). According to the results, ruminative thinking levels were affected by 12% alexithymia level and 9% time spent on conversation. A statistically significant relationship was found between rumination, alexithymia, and its sub-dimensions and the number of times people spend for conversation during the day and the number of people they live with (p0.05). It was determined that those living with family/friends were lower than those who were alone, and those with good communication in relationships had lower rumination and alexithymia (p0.05). Conclusion: Care should be taken against alexithymia and rumination during the COVID-19 pandemic process, and attention should be given to interpersonal relationships, conversation, and communication in the quarantine process.