Existential Vacuum and its Relationship to Alexithymia Disorder among a Sample of Couples in Qassim Region: A Psychometric Clinical Study

Abstract

The study aimed to explore the levels of existential vacuum and alexithymia disorder among a sample of couples in Qassim region. Moreover, it aimed to investigate the relationship between existential vacuum and alexithymia disorder. The study also examined the underlying factors contributing to existential vacuum and alexithymia disorder among individual cases. The descriptive-analytical method was employed in the first part of the study, while the clinical approach was utilized in the second part, which focused on studying the underlying factors causing disorders in individual cases. The study sample consisted of 309 from Qassim region. Two cases with the highest scores on the existential vacuum and alexithymia scales were chosen for further in-depth analysis. The study employed various tools including Gabriel et al. (2017) Existential Vacuum Scale, Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) developed by Bagby et al. (1994) and standardized by Zain Al-Abidin et al. (2017). The study used the Sentence Completion Test by Joseph Sachs (SSCT) translated by Ahmed Abdulaziz Salama (1965), a case study questionnaire prepared by Al-Haza'a (2009), and an information collection form developed by the researcher were all used. The study revealed a low level of existential vacuum among the participants, while no statistically significant differences were found between husbands and wives regarding existential vacuum. Similarly, the study found that the participants demonstrated a low level of alexithymia disorder, while no statistically significant differences were observed between husbands and wives in terms of alexithymia. Furthermore, the study revealed a significant positive correlation between existential vacuum and alexithymia. On the other hand, the clinical results of individual cases indicated that the underlying causes of high levels of existential vacuum and alexithymia among the participants were associated with psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety, dysfunctional family, domestic violence, economic hardships, marital conflicts, and mental illness of some of the family members.