Little is known about how effectively incarcerated adolescents in Malaysia are prepared for an independent life upon their release from incarceration. One of the constructs that may play an important role in this issue is alexithymia regulation. Thus, this study is designed to examine the relationship between alexithymia regulation and readiness for independent living. In line with the study objectives, a two-stage cluster sampling method was used by this cross-sectional study in selecting the respondents from selected Sekolah Tunas Bakti in Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 255 questionnaires were distributed to incarcerated adolescents aged 12 to 18 years old. The findings revealed that the alexithymia regulation may not be as prevalent among incarcerated adolescents with a coefficient ? value of (r = -.430, p > 0.05). Nevertheless, there is a general lack of concern and the ability to portray feelings in several approaches. These capacities are thought to lay the reason for alexithymia regulation and the structure of healthy relational relationships. Likewise, a fundamental understanding of the readiness for independent living among incarcerated adolescents can be utilized as a source of output for the policymakers to provide a supportive environment for these incarcerated adolescents, especially in the Malaysian context.
Bagby, R. M., Parker, J. D. A., & Taylor, G. J. (1994). The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. J Psychosom Res. 38(1). 23–32.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Baker, C. A., Peterson, E., Pulos, S., & Kirkland, R. A. (2014). A meta-analysis of the relationship between intelligence and “Reading the Mind in the Eyes”. Intelligence, Eyes and IQ, 44, 78–92.
Bamonti, P. M., Heisel, M. J., Topciu, R. A., Franus, N., Talbot, N. L., & Duberstein, P. R. (2020). Association of alexithymia and depression symptom severity in adults aged 50 years and older. Am I Geriatric Psychiatry? 18 (1), 51-56.
Benbenishty & Schiff. (2009) Preparation for social reintegration among young girls in residential care in India. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies. 9. 151.
Brown, S., Fite, P. J., Stone, K., Richey, A., & Bortolato, M. (2018). Associations between emotional abuse and neglect and dimensions of alexithymia: The moderating role of gender. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 10(3), 300–308.
Cashmore, J., & Paxman, M. (2006). Predicting after-care outcomes: The importance of ‘felt’ security. Child and Family Social Work, 11(3), 232–241.
Chen J., Xu T., Jing J., Chan R. C. (2011). Alexithymia and emotional regulation: a cluster analytical approach. BMC Psychiatry 11:33 10.1186/1471-244X-11-33
Chiam, H. K., & Chan, S. G. (2011). A profile of delinquents in an approved school. Akademika, 81(1), 101-108
Choo, W. Y., Dunne, M. P., Marret, M. J., Fleming, M., & Wong,Y. L. (2011). Victimization experiences of adolescents in Malaysia. Journal of Adolescent Health, 49, 627-634
Dalbudak, E., Evren, C., Aldemir, S., Coskun, K. S., Yildirim, F. G., & Ugurlu, H. (2013). Alexithymia and personality in relation to social anxiety among university students. Psychiatry Research, 209(2), 167–172.
Daud, M. D. (2017). Globalisation in the Malaysian context: The experience of Malay adolescents with ‘conduct disorders’ (Unpublished doctoral dissertation).
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2020). Children statistics, Malaysia
Dimaggio, G., & Lysaker, P. H. (2015). Metacognition and mentalizing in the psychotherapy of patients with psychosis and personality disorders. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 71(2), 117–124.
Essau, C.A., Sasagawa, S., & Frick, P.J. (2006). Callous-unemotional traits in a community sample of adolescents. Assessment, 13(4), 454-69.
Gatta, M., Dal Santo, F., Rago, A., Spoto, A., & Battistella, P. A. (2016). Alexithymia, impulsiveness, and psychopathology in nonsuicidal self-injured adolescents. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 12, 2307-2317.
Gillespie, S. M., Garofalo, C., & Velotti, P. (2018). Emotion regulation, mindfulness, and alexithymia: Specific or general impairments in sexual, violent, and homicide offenders? Journal of Criminal Justice, 58, 56–66.
Gross, J. J., & Jazaieri, H. (2014). Emotion, emotion regulation, and psychopathology. Clin. Psychol. Sci., 2, 387–401.
Hammen, P.A., Brennan, D., & Keenan-Miller (2008). Patterns of adolescent depression to age 20: The role of maternal depression and youth interpersonal dysfunction. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36 (8),1189-1198
Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2020). A systematic review: The influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 79–93
Lavaf, H., Ghanbari, S., & Shokri, O. (2016). The mediating role of internalizing problems in the relationship between alexithymia and externalizing problems. Developmental Psychology, 12(48), 413–425.
Leshem, R., van Lieshout, P. H., Ben?David, S., & Ben?David, B. M. (2019). Does emotion matter? The role of alexithymia in violent recidivism: A systematic literature review. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 29, 94–110.
Mankus, A. M., Boden, M. T., & Thompson, R. J. (2016). Sources of variation in emotional awareness: Age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Personality and Individual Diferences, 89, 28–33.
Muzi, S. (2020). A narrative review on alexithymia in adolescents with previous adverse experiences placed for adoption, in foster care, or institutions. Prevalence, gender differences, and relations with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Mediterranean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 8(2).
Nasir, R., Zamani, Z. A., Yusooff, F., & Khairudin, R. (2010). Cognitive distortion and depression among juvenile delinquents in Malaysia. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 5, 272-276.
Parker, J. D., Taylor, G. J., & Bagby, M. (2003). The 20-Item Toronto alexithymia scale III. Reliability and factorial validity in a community population. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 55, 269–275.
Poquerusse, J., Pastore, L., Dellantonio, S., & Esposito, G. (2018). Alexithymia and autism spectrum disorder: A complex relationship. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1196.
Preece, D., Becerra, R., Allan, A., Robinson, K., & Dandy, J. (2017). Establishing the theoretical components of alexithymia via factor analysis: Introduction and validation of the attention?appraisal model of alexithymia. Personality and Individual Differences, 119, 341–352.
Richardson, L. P., Ludman, E., McCauley, E., Lindenbaum, J., Larison, C., Zhou, C., & Katon, W. (2014). Collaborative care for adolescents with depression in primary care: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 312 (8), 809-816
Rickwood, D. J., Deane, F. P., & Wilson, C. J. (2007). When and how do young people seek professional help for mental health problems? Medical Journal of Australia, 187 (7), 35-S39
Stein, M. (2008). Resilience and young people leaving care. Child Care in Practice, 14(1): 35– 44.
Te Brinke, L. W., Menting, A. T. A., Schuiringa, H. D., Zeman, J., & Dekovic, M. (2020). The structure of emotion regulation strategies in adolescence: Differential links to internalizing and externalizing problems. Social Development.
Velotti, P., Garofalo, C., Callea, A., Bucks, R. S., Roberton, T., & Daffern, M. (2017). Exploring anger among offenders: the role of emotion dysregulation and alexithymia. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 24(1), 128–138.
Velotti, P., Garofalo, C., Petrocchi, C., Cavallo, F., Popolo, R., & Dimaggio, G. (2016). Alexithymia, emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, and aggression: A multiple mediation model. Psychiatry Research, 237, 296–303.
Verzeletti, C., Zammuner, V. L., Galli, C., & Agnoli, S. (2016). Emotion regulation strategies and psychosocial well-being in adolescence. Cogent Psychology, 3 (1).
White, H. R., Shi, J., Hirschfield, P., Mun, E. Y., Loeber, R. (2010). Effects of institutional confinement for delinquency on levels of depression and anxiety among male adolescents. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 8 (4), 295-313
Yosuff, N., Ibrahim, N., & Ahmad, N. (2020). Negative Life Events, Resilience, and Depression among Moral Rehabilitation Centre Students of Sekolah Tunas Bakti in Malaysia. International Journal of Health, Sciences, and Research, 10(3), 1-10.
Zeira, A., & Benbenishty, R. (2011). Readiness for independent living of adolescents in youth villages in Israel. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 2461–2468.
