Zubair, Talat (2024) The Mediating Effect of Alexithymia in the Relationship between Complex PTSD and Social Problem-Solving in Adolescents. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Adolescence is a time of significant changes across an individual’s developmental areas. Exposure to trauma during adolescence can cause behavioural dysregulation and may lead to underdeveloped problem-solving skills. Trauma is also associated with the development of alexithymia, which is characterised by difficulty in identifying and describing feelings. Additionally, chronic and repeated trauma are well-established risk factors for the development of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (complex PTSD). This cross-sectional study aims to explore whether alexithymia mediates the relationship between complex PTSD and social problem-solving in adolescents. Archival data collected through an online survey was used, containing measures from the International Trauma Questionnaire Child and Adolescent Version (ITQ-CA), Toronto Alexithymia Scale- 20 (TAS-20), and the Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised Short-Form (SPSI-R: SF). Participants (N = 335) were Australian adolescents, 57.9% male and 35.5% female, aged between 14 and 18 years (M = 16.2, SD = 1.34), with almost 77% identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Correlation and mediation analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses. Results indicated that social problem-solving correlated negatively with both complex PTSD (r = -.46, p <.001) and alexithymia (r = -.44, p <.001) and a positive correlation was found between complex PTSD and alexithymia (r =.76, p <.001). Mediation analysis showed that alexithymia partially mediates the relationship between complex PTSD and social problemsolving, with an indirect effect of b = -.03, 95% BCa CI [-.05, -.01]. The findings suggest that interventions aimed at improving social problem-solving may benefit from addressing alexithymia in traumatised youth
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | No Faculty |
| Supervisors: | Dr. Izadikhah, Zahra |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Jan 2026 06:37 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Jan 2026 06:37 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Aboriginals, adolescents, alexithymia, complex PTSD, social problemsolving |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1701 Psychology > 170106 Health, Clinical and Counselling Psychology |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5203 Clinical and health psychology > 520304 Health psychology |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/53126 |
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