The amount of alexithymia among patients with kidney diseases, students and nurses in Kermanshah (2012)

  Background: The emotion regulation has a special role in human health. Studies have shown that emotion regulation problems may lead to physical and psychological problems.   Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the amount of alexithymia and its aspects among patients with kidney diseases , nurses and students.   Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in Kermanshah, 2012. The study population included three samples of 110 patients with kidney diseases in Kermanshah, 110 students of Razi University and 110 nursing staff of Kermanshah hospitals that were selected by convenience sampling method. The measurement tool was alexithymia questionnaire (FTAS-20). Data were analyzed using multi-way Analysis of Variance (multi-way ANOVA) test and Scheffe test.   Findings: There were significant differences among the three groups . The mean scores of alexitymia were significantly higher in patients with kidney diseases (M=59.41) than nurses (M=58.95) and students (M=51.94), and the mean scores of alexitymia were significantly higher in nurses than students .   Conclusion: With regard to the results, it is suggested that the role of emotion regulation as well as treatment should be considered in patients with kidney diseases. The role of emotion regulation should also be considered in nursing staff seriously .