Alexithymia and Family Environment as Predictors of Avoidant Personality Disorder Symptoms Among International University Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54133/ajms.v11i2.3127الكلمات المفتاحية:
Englishالملخص
Background: While personality disorders had less research interest than other disorders, Avoidant Personality Disorder (AVPD) is one of the prevalent and dysfunctional personality disorders. There is an essential role for family environment-related factors in the development of AVPD and alexithymia. International students face psychosocial challenges that may be associated with AVPD symptoms. Objective: To investigate the contribution of alexithymia and family environment in predicting AVPD symptoms among international university students in Jordan. Methods: To achieve the objectives of this study, three measures were used: the University Students’ AVPD Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the short version of the Family Environment Scale, which were administered to a sample composed of 393 participants, including 188 males and 205 females. Multiple regression analysis was used. Results: The results showed that alexithymia and family environment significantly predicted AVPD among international students, accounting for 67.4% of the variance. Specifically, alexithymia was the strongest predictor, followed by family. Intellectual orientation, expression, organization, and cohesion, whereas family conflict and orientation to recreational activities did not predict AVPD symptoms. Gender-specific analysis indicated that the model explained 72.2% of variance in males and 62.6% in females. Conclusions: These findings clarify that the difficulties that international students have in understanding and expressing their emotions, together with their family environment, play a pivotal role in their lives. Considering these factors may help identify students who are more susceptible to AVPD symptoms and facilitate efforts to develop effective psychosocial interventions.
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