Difficulties in the Expression of Emotions in Preschool Children: Relations with Language and Temperament

Alexithymia refers to difficulties in the expression of one's own emotions. The development of alexithymic traits and the associated risk factors have been extensively studied in primary-school children and adolescents. In contrast, few data are available concerning the preschool period. Therefore, in the present study we used a parent report instrument, the Children's Alexithymia Measure, to assess emotional expression difficulties in a sample of 130 children between 3 and 5 years of age. We also examined the relations of alexithymic scores with concurrent language and temperament measures. The results indicated that children's difficulties were negatively associated with social orientation and naming abilities but positively associated with negative emotionality. Furthermore, the significance of these relations differed across boys and girls. Overall, these data shed light on the factors that contribute to the development of emotional expression difficulties in the preschool period. Future studies should determine whether these same factors may be used to predict the emergence of alexithymic traits in later ages.