Family environment and alexithymia among heroin addicts

Objective To explore the family environment,alexithymia and the relationship between them among heroin addicts.Methods Totally 180 heroin addicts in Tianjin were assessed with a self-desighed general questionnaire,Toronto Alexithymia Scale(TAS),and Family Environment Scale-Chinese Version(FES-CV).The results were compared with those of China norm.Results There were significant differences(t=13.747,8.093,11.143,9.935,5.178,and 4.648;P<0.001 for all)among all the subscales of FES-CV and TAS between the heroin addicts and the China norm,except the subscales of moral religion in FES-CV and fantasy in TAS.Correlation analysis showed that the subscales of FES-CV of heroin addicts significantly associated with certain subscales of TAS(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Conclusion There are many deficits in the family environment and severe alexithymia among heroin addicts.Alexithymia and adverse family environment are closely linked.