Level of alexithymia as an indicator of psychological stability of students of technical and humanitarian higher educational institutions ¹⁴¹⁴

The contribution gives a review of the most essential foreign and Russian researches of alexithymia. It discusses the definitions of the subject and existing methods of its diagnostics. It also analyzes the types of alexithymia: “affective” is caused by low emotional tonus, “cognitive” – by weak skill to identify feelings. An analysis of empirical studies allowed to conclude that alexithymia is combined with various psychological and psychosomatic problems. An empirical research was carried out involving a sample group of 294 students of Moscow technical and humanitarian universities (102 boys, 192 girls). The average age of participants was 17.8 years. Three hypothesis on relation between the level of alexithymia and gender, specialty and psychological stability were tested. In order to study the correlates of the level of alexithymia the authors used a battery of scales aimed at diagnostics of lying, extroversion, neuroticism, anxiety, frustration, aggression, rigidity, psychoticism, achievement motive and readiness to risk. Two hypothesis were not confirmed, the third was confirmed. The contribution states applied aspects and prospects of the research

Keywords: alexithymia, specialty, gender, readiness to risk, neuroticism, achievement motivation, psychological stability.

Column: Clinical and special psychology