Table 1.
Means and standard deviations for recognition thresholds demonstrated by control and eating disorder (ED) groups, with t-tests for group differences, and correlations with alexithymia and ED symptomology. (Alexithymia is measured by the Toronto alexithymia questionnaire (TAS-20), whereas ED symptomology is measured by the eating disorder examination questionnaire (EDE-Q). None of the measures of emotion or identity recognition was associated with ED symptomology. Alexithymia was significantly negatively correlated with the threshold for global emotion recognition, and for happiness, disgust and pain recognition. There was also a strong trend for alexithymia to be negatively correlated with anger recognition threshold. *p<0.05; **p<0.025.)
| attribute | control mean (s.d.) % | ED mean (s.d.) % | group contrast | correlation with EDE-Q | correlation with TAS-20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| emotion | 62.0 (11.3) | 57.3 (18.8) | t40=0.978 | r=0.024 | r=−0.340* |
| identity | 47.3 (20.3) | 43.8 (20.8) | t40=0.546 | r=0.021 | r=−0.226 |
| happiness | 70.9 (18.9) | 76.1 (17.8) | t40=0.907 | r=0.226 | r=−0.305* |
| sadness | 68.6 (14.3) | 68.8 (26.3) | t40=0.029 | r=0.151 | r=−0.135 |
| disgust | 51.0 (19.6) | 51.4 (24.5) | t40=0.056 | r=−0.069 | r=−0.381** |
| anger | 53.8 (23.3) | 45.2 (30.2) | t40=1.022 | r=0.004 | r=−0.301 |
| surprise | 84.2 (12.2) | 73.6 (24.7) | t40=1.766 | r=−0.055 | r=−0.026 |
| fear | 38.5 (22.3) | 34.0 (26.8) | t40=0.595 | r=0.081 | r=−0.133 |
| pain | 66.9 (21.9) | 52.1 (27.0) | t40=1.947 | r=−0.166 | r=−0.323* |