Alexithymia and the anxiolytic effect of endurance running

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Individuals high in alexithymia use high-risk sport to regulate their anxiety. Given the conceptual similarities between arduous high-risk sports and extreme endurance running, we investigated the relationship between alexithymia and the anxiolytic effects of endurance running. We measured marathon and ultramarathon runners (n = 35) on alexithymia, and pre- and post-race anxiety. Bootstrapped regression analyses using MEMORE revealed that alexithymia moderated the relationship between pre- and post-race anxiety such that there was a significant anxiety reduction for individuals high in alexithymia only. In conclusion, extreme endurance running provides an emotion regulation function for individuals high in alexithymia. The modest sample size points to the need for replication and further exploration.

Keywords

  • emotion regulation, Anxiety, ultramarathon, affect, coping
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)40-46
Number of pages7
JournalSport Psychologist
Volume36
Issue number1
Early online date23 Oct 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2022

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