THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ALEXITHYMIA, DEPRESSION, AND SLEEP QUALITY

Since possible causes, but no definitive causes, of bad sleep has been identified,
this study aimed to investigate the relationship between depressions, alexithymia and sleep quality
with descriptive-correlation method.
Materials & Methods: This study descriptive correlational study was conducted on 120 (60 mal, 60
female) students of Tabriz University that were selected by random sampling. Toronto Alexithymia
Scale (TAS-20), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-21)
were used to collect data. The data were analyzed by Pearson’s correlation test and multivariate
regression analysis methods.
Results: There was a significant relationship between depression and sleep quality in students, as well
as between alexithymia and its components. Multivariate regression analysis (step by step) showed
that the two components of alexithymia include: difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty
describing feelings predicts of sleep quality.
Conclusion: This study confirmed the relationship between depression and alexithymia via sleep
quality