Comparison Alexithymia, Impulsivity and Activation and Inhibition of the Students with Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive and Paranoid Personality Disorder with Normal Individuals

Introduction: The purpose of this study aimed to compare Alexithymia, impulsivity and behavioral activation and inhibition in students with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive and paranoid personality disorders with normal individuals.
Method: Statistical society of this research includes from all the students in Mohaghegh Ardabili University in 2011(N=8344). In the first stage, in order to identify students with obsessive-compulsive and paranoid personality disorders, 368 students selected based on random sampling and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III was administered. In the second stage, since the research method employed is causal-comparative, for each sub group of students with symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive, Paranoid personality disorder and normal individuals, 25 students were selected and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and the Gray-Wilson Personality Questionnaire was administered on the 75 persons in 3 groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive measures and multivariate analysis of variance.
Results: Results indicated that mean scores on Alexithymia, impulsivity and behavioral inhibition system were greater in the students with symptoms of paranoid personality disorders than students with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorders and normal individuals. While mean scores on behavioral activation system was greater in students with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder than students with symptoms of paranoid personality disorder and normal individuals.
Conclusion: The study emphasizes on the role of Alexithymia, impulsivity and behavioral activation and inhibition to understand the psychopathology of obsessive-compulsive and paranoid personality disorders.