English abstract
The study aimed to identify the prevalence of alexithymia, the nature of the relationship between it and self-compassion, and the differences between alexithymia, culture, gender, and the interaction between them on the dimensions of self-compassion in seven Arab societies. To achieve the aim of the study, the descriptive, correlational approach was used. The sample consisted of (N = 2265); their ages ranged between (18–60) years, with a mean age of 27.28 years. The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (translated by Al-Edan, 2019a) and the Self-Compassion Scale developed by Neff (2003a) were applied. The results showed a difference in the prevalence of alexithymia, which ranged between (26.2%–49%), and it reached (36.7%) in the total sample. Moreover, the relationships between alexithymia and self-compassion also varied, and the total sample showed a positive relationship between alexithymia and self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification. Furthermore, alexithymia influenced the dimensions of self-compassion, especially the negative dimensions, and alexithymic people were higher in self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification. The largest effect size was the effect of alexithymia on self-judgment, as the differences were attributed to alexithymia at a rate of (13.4%), and these differences were not isolated from the influence of culture, as the results showed an interaction of the factors of alexithymia and culture in varying the dimensions of self-compassion.
