La investigación de la violencia de pareja se ha centrado tradicionalmente en la mujer como víctima y el hombre como agresor; no obstante, la violencia frecuentemente es recíproca. La alexitimia constituye un potencial factor de riesgo de violencia de pareja por sus características de un vínculo inseguro, un estilo pasivo de afrontamiento, un déficit de empatía y dificultades de control emocional. Además, la alexitimia se encuentra relacionada con la depresión. El artículo estudia la relación de la alexitimia con la violencia sufrida y la violencia ejercida (frecuencia y daño) en hombres y mujeres con una pareja heterosexual controlada por la variable depresión. Se aplicaron el Cuestionario de Violencia Sufrida y Ejercida de Pareja (CVSE, Moral de la Rubia & Ramos Basurto, 2015), la Escala de Alexitimia de Toronto de 20 ítems (EAT-20, Bagby, Parker & Taylor, 1994, en su versión mexicana de Moral de la Rubia, 2008a) y el Inventario de Depresión de Beck (2ª ed., IDB-2, Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996, en su Formato Simplificado de Aplicación, IDB-2-FSA; Moral de la Rubia, 2013) a una muestra no probabilística de 240 participantes (120 mujeres y 120 hombres) en Monterrey, México. La alexitimia correlacionó más con la violencia sufrida que con la violencia ejercida, más con el daño que con la frecuencia dentro de la violencia sufrida y más con la frecuencia que con el daño dentro de la violencia ejercida. La mayoría de estas correlaciones permanecieron significativas al parcializar la depresión. En un modelo con buen ajuste en la muestra conjunta (hombres y mujeres), la alexitimia mostró un efecto significativo tanto sobre la violencia sufrida como la ejercida y este efecto fue tanto directo como indirecto con la mediación de la depresión. Concluye que la alexitimia es principalmente un factor de riesgo para sufrir violencia y en menor medida para ejercerla.

Research on intra-couple violence has traditionally focused on women as victims and men as aggressors when violence is often reciprocal between both members of the couple. Alexithymia is a potential risk factor for intra-couple violence due to its usually associated characteristics of insecure attachment, passive coping style, empathy deficit and emotional control difficulties. Alexithymia has been found to be closely related to depression. Taking into account this background, the aim of this paper was to study the relationship between alexithymia and suffered and exerted violence among men and women with heterosexual partners, controlling for depression. The Spanish questionnaire on suffered and exerted couple violence (Cuestionario de Violencia Sufrida y Ejercida de Pareja, CVSE, Moral de la Rubia & Ramos Basurto, 2015), the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20, Bagby, Parker & Taylor, 1994, in its Mexican version, Moral de la Rubia, 2008a) and the Beck Depression Inventory (2nd Ed., BDI-2, Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996, in its simplified Mexican application format, IDB-2-FSA; Moral de la Rubia, 2013) were administrated to a non-random sample of 240 participants (120 female and 120 male). Alexithymia correlated to violence, more to suffered violence than exerted violence, more to damage than frequency within suffered violence, and more to frequency than damage within exerted violence. Most of these correlations remained significant after controlling for depression. In a model with a close fit to the data in the total sample, alexithymia had a significant effect on suffered and exerted violence, and this effect was both directly and indirectly mediated by depression. It is concluded that alexithymia is primordially a risk factor for suffering violence from the partner and to a much lesser extent to perpetrating violence against the partner.

The aims of this paper were: 1) to estimate the levels of couple violence (received and exercised) and alexithymia among women, and 2) to study the relationship among alexithymia and violence. The Questionnaire of Couple Violence and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were applied to a non-probability sample of 118 Mexican women with a heterosexual partner. Mean of age was 35 years old (SD = 10) ranking from 18 to 57. Regarding marital status, 53 of 118 women (45%) reported being married, 28 (24%) separated, 21 (18%) in free union with a partner, 11 (9%) single, 4 (3%) divorced and 1 (1%) widow. Indices of received violence and exerted violence that vary from 0 to 100 were calculated multiplying reported frequency by reported damage. Comparisons of means for Student's t-test, linear correlations, linear regression and path analysis were use for data analysis. Alexithymia (TAS-20 total scores ≥ 61) was found in 42% of women, received violence in 25% (scores of received violence index ≥ 30), and exercised violence in 5% (scores of received violence index ≥ 30). The mean of index of received violence was higher than the one of index of exerted violence (t[117] = 4.15, p < .01). Alexithymia was associated to violence. Its correlation was higher with received violence than with exerted violence. A reactive violence pattern was observed in which alexithymia acts as a risk factor. In this path model, alexithymia (TAS-20 total score) determined both the received damage as the index of exerted violence. The received damage determined the index of exerted violence. The variable of level of education was added as a determinant of the index of exerted violence, owing to model ran out degrees of freedom with only one variable exogenous (alexithymia).The model explained 21% of the variance of exerted violence and 19% of the variance of received damage with a close fit to the data (χ2 [1, N = 118] = 0.14, p = .71, GFI = 1, AGFI = .99, NFI = 1, CFI = 1, and RMSEA = 0). This relationship among alexithymia and violence could probably be due to the adjustment and control problems that alexithymia involves. It is suggested to assess alexithymia in new studies and interventions in couple violence.

Esta investigación tuvo como objetivos estimar los niveles de alexitimia y violencia de pareja (recibida y ejercida) en mujeres, asimismo estudiar la relación entre alexitimia y violencia. La escala de alexitimia de Toronto (TAS-20) y el Cuestionario de Violencia en la Pareja fueron aplicados a una muestra no probabilística de 118 mujeres mexicanas con pareja heterosexual. Se encontró alexitimia (TAS-20 ≥ 61) en el 42% de las mujeres, violencia recibida en el 25% y de violencia ejercida en el 5%. La violencia recibida fue mayor que la ejercida. La alexitimia se asoció con la violencia, más con la violencia recibida que con la ejercida. Se observó un patrón de violencia reactiva en el que la alexitimia actúa como un factor de riesgo. Esto probablemente se deba a los problemas de ajuste y control que la alexitimia conlleva. Se aconseja evaluar la alexitimia en los estudios e intervenciones en violencia de pareja.