The role of perceived stress and fear of negative evaluation in the process from alexithymia to over-adaptation

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to clarify the process by which aspects of alexithymia lead to internal and external adaptation (which consists of over-adaptation) by examining hypothetical model focused on perceived stress and fear of negative evaluation (FNE). Previous studies suggested that alexithymia, particularly the two characteristics of difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings, may be related to over-adaptation and lead to physical and psychological problems. However, the process by which this occurs remains unclear and as a result, little progress has been made in finding an approach for improving over-adaptation. In order to establish such an approach, we conducted an online survey targeting a wide range of age groups and examined the hypothetical model. The results of a path analysis generally supported the model, which suggested that FNE and perceived stress have a mediating role and that FNE, in particular, has a strong influence on each aspect of over-adaptation. These results imply that approaches targeting reduction of FNE and stress might be important for improving over-adaptation.