Comparison of emotional intelligence, alexithymia , thought action fusion among Patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Normal Individuals

Emotional and cognitive components such as emotional intelligence, Alexithymia, and thought-action fusion have a significant impact on generalized anxiety disorder, and the above components are considered to be the main factors in the creation and continuation of this disorder. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare emotional intelligence, Alexithymia and thought-action fusion in patients with generalized anxiety disorder and normal people. The present study was descriptive and causal-comparative in terms of its fundamental purpose and data collection method. The statistical population of the research was all generalized anxiety patients who referred to specialized psychiatry and counseling clinics in Qazvin city in the spring and summer of 1402, who were diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder by specialists. From this statistical population, 50 people with pervasive anxiety and 50 normal people were selected by available sampling method. The tools of this research were Bar-N's Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (1980), Toronto Alexithymia Questionnaire (1994) and Rachman and Shafran's Thought-Action Fusion Questionnaire (1998). Data were analyzed using SPSS-25 software and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). The results showed that there is a significant difference between emotional intelligence (F=24.22 and P<0.01), Alexithymia (F=14.77 and P<0.01) and thought-action fusion (F=9.85 and P<0.01) exists in patients with generalized anxiety disorder and normal people. Therefore, it is recommended to pay special attention to the role of emotional intelligence, Alexithymia, and thought-action fusion in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Also, experts can use the research results for the prevention and treatment of generalized anxiety disorder.