Alexithymia and emotional intelligence among persons with alcohol dependence

Background: Alcohol abuse is reflected as a major public health concern in worldwide. It impaired many areas of life, including familial, vocational, psychological, legal, social, or physical aspects of life. Greater drug abuse has also been seen in those with high alexithymia, a condition that is strongly associated with low emotional intelligence. However, there is a dearth of Indian literature on the same. Methods: Cross-sectional hospital-based study; one hundred alcohol dependent patients, diagnosed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, were selected by purposive sampling. One hundred normal controls were selected. General Health Questionnaire, an Indian adaptation of Emotional Intelligence Scale, and Toronto Alexithymia Scale were used for assessment. The statistical analysis of descriptive and inferential was carried out using the Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) 16.0. Results: Study revealed a significant difference in scores on the Emotional Intelligence scale between the alcohol dependent and normal control group. Conclusion: Our study suggests an association between low emotional intelligence, and high in alexithymia score. The present findings are generating and passing out relevant knowledge, which would be helpful and beneficial in reducing alcohol abuse, its harmful health effects, as well as in developing new treatment strategies for alcohol dependency.