Abstract

Past research has established the overlap between several emotion-related factors, such as alexithymia, empathy, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and mentalization. The aim of the present study was to analyze where these variables overlapped and how they related to different psychological and psychopathological variables. This was accomplished through the use of a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and four canonical correlation models. The results indicated that there was an eight-component structure that included Alexithymia, Valuing Emotions, Mistrusting Emotions, Positive Reframe, Perspective-Taking, Empathetic Concern, Emotional Pessimism, and Avoiding Emotions. The internal reliability of the components ranged from adequate to excellent. The validity of the components yielded results that, for the most part, are consistent with the limited prior research. Implications of the study included the ability to create a single measure that will assess the eight emotional ability dimensions identified by the PCA, and the confirmation of the importance of these emotion related abilities in relation to psychopathology and other psychological constructs. Limitations of the study were related to the population and sample size.

Date of publication

Summer 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

english

Persistent identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10950/4863

Committee members

Dr. Bradley Green, Dr. Olga Berkout, Dr. Eric Stocks

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

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