Examining the Relationship Between Perceived Parental Conflict and Psychosomatic Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Alexithymia in University Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63053/ijhes.187Keywords:
Perceived parental conflict, Alexithymia, Psychosomatic symptoms, University studentsAbstract
Introduction: Perceived parental conflict and alexithymia are critical factors associated with psychosomatic symptoms in university students. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived parental conflict and psychosomatic symptoms with the mediating role of alexithymia in students of the Islamic Azad University, Shiraz Branch.
Methods: The research was fundamental and descriptive‑correlational using path analysis. The statistical population comprised all male and female students of all disciplines and educational levels at the Islamic Azad University, Shiraz Branch, in the academic year 2024‑2025, from whom 260 participants were selected by cluster random sampling. Data were collected using the Perceived Parental Conflict Scale (Grych et al., 1992) [1], the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby et al., 1986) [2], and the Psychosomatic Symptom Scale (Takata & Sakata, 2004) [3]. Descriptive statistics were analysed with SPSS version 27, and path analysis was performed using PLS software.
Results: The direct effect of perceived parental conflict on alexithymia was positive and significant (β = 0.776, P < 0.01). The direct effect of alexithymia on psychosomatic symptoms was also positive and significant (β = 0.395, P < 0.01). Likewise, the direct effect of perceived parental conflict on psychosomatic symptoms was positive and significant (β = 0.489, P < 0.01). Moreover, the indirect effect of perceived parental conflict on psychosomatic symptoms through alexithymia was positive and significant (β = 0.306, P < 0.01).
Conclusion: Alexithymia acts as a significant mediator between perceived parental conflict and psychosomatic symptoms among university students. Strengthening emotion regulation and communication skills may reduce alexithymia and subsequent psychosomatic complaints. Educational programmes in university settings can improve mental health and decrease psychosomatic symptoms.
References
1. Grych JH, Seid M, Fincham FD. Assessing marital conflict from the child's perspective: the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale. Child Dev. 1992;63(3):558 72.
2. Bagby RM, Parker JDA, Taylor GJ. The twenty item Toronto Alexithymia Scale – I. Item selection and cross validation of the factor structure. J Psychosom Res. 1994;38(1):23 32.
3. Takata Y, Sakata Y. Development of a psychosomatic complaints scale for adolescents. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2004;58(1):3 7.
4. Stanisławska Kubiak M, Stelcer B, Wojciechowska J, et al. Psychosomatic symptoms associated with traumatic events experienced in medical students. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2023;36(5):606 17.
5. Nawafleh HA, Al Hadid LA, Al Momani MM, Al Sayeh AM. The prevalence of psychosomatic symptoms and spirituality levels among university students in South Jordan. Health. 2018;10(1):107 21.
6. Grych JH, Fincham FD. Marital conflict and children's adjustment: a cognitive contextual framework. Psychol Bull. 1990;108(2):267 90.
7. Fosco GM, Lydon Staley DM. A within family examination of interparental conflict, cognitive appraisals, and adolescent mood and well being. Child Dev. 2019;90(4):e421 36.
8. Lamadede E, Amunga J, Ikoha A. Parental conflicts and performance in internal examinations: the case of students in mixed day secondary schools in Kenya. Int J Educ Soc Sci Res. 2024;7(5):274 91.
9. Bierstetel S, Jiang Y, Slatcher RB, Zilioli S. Parent child conflict and physical health trajectories among youth with asthma. J Psychosom Res. 2021;150:110606.
10. Narejo H, Wassan A, Shah E. The impact of parental conflict on children for their growth, upbringing and proper grooming. Prog Res J Arts Humanit. 2023;5:55 68.
11. Taylor GJ, Bagby RM, Parker JDA. Disorders of affect regulation: alexithymia in medical and psychiatric illness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1997.
12. Lumley MA, Neely LC, Burger AJ. The assessment of alexithymia in medical settings: implications for understanding and treating health problems. J Pers Assess. 2007;89(3):230 46.
13. De Gucht V, Heiser W. Alexithymia and somatisation: a quantitative review of the literature. J Psychosom Res. 2003;54(5):425 34.
14. Kano M, Endo Y, Fukudo S. Association between alexithymia and functional gastrointestinal disorders. Front Psychol. 2018;9:599.
15. Lazarević M, Ristić S, Đorđević V. Connection between alexithymia and chronic diseases of the heart and lungs. Acta Fac Med Naiss. 2023;40(2):171 8.
16. Jia L, Zhang Y, Yu S. Relation between interparental conflict and non suicidal self injury in adolescents: mediating role of alexithymia and moderating role of resilience. Int J Ment Health Promot. 2024;26(10):837 45.
17. Shi S, Li G, Zhu X, Kong L. Correlation between family dysfunction and non suicidal self injury in a sample of Chinese adolescents: the mediating effect of alexithymia and circRNA_103636. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2024;20:2115 24.
18. Sayyar S, Ghanbari MR, Omid A, et al. Effectiveness of acceptance and commitment therapy on psychosomatic symptoms and mindfulness in patients with psychosomatic disorder. J Pract Clin Psychol. 2019;7(2):79 86.
19. Schumacher RE, Lomax RG. A beginner's guide to structural equation modeling. 2nd ed. Mahwah (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2004.
20. Gharabaghi H, Vafaei T. Reliability and validity of the Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale [Persian]. J Psychol Educ. 2009;39(2):45 62.
21. Besharat MA. Reliability and factorial validity of the Farsi version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale [Persian]. Iran J Psychiatry Clin Psychol. 2008;14(2):207 14.
22. Hajloo N. Psychometric properties of the Psychosomatic Symptom Scale in Iranian students [Persian]. J Sch Psychol. 2012;1(3):86 104.
23. Mohseni Habibabadi Z, Sedigharfaee F, Jafari A. The role of alexithymia and parental conflict resolution style in children's psychosomatic manifestations with the mediation of parent child relationship quality [Persian]. J Psychol. 2024;27(2):195 205.
24. Davies PT, Cummings EM. Marital conflict and child adjustment: an emotional security hypothesis. Psychol Bull. 1994;116(3):387 411.
25. Rota E, Cavagnetto E, Immovilli P, et al. Alexithymia increases the headache pain index in women with migraine: preliminary results. J Clin Med. 2025;14(5):1629.
26. Pennebaker JW. Confession, inhibition, and disease. In: Berkowitz L, editor. Advances in experimental social psychology. Vol. 22. New York: Academic Press; 1989. p. 211 44.
27. Subramani N, Arunprasath TS. Parental relationship quality as a predictor of functional gastrointestinal disorders in infants and toddlers. Indian J Pediatr. 2025; doi: 10.1007/s12098-025-05634-3.
28. Garralda ME, Rask CU. Somatoform and related disorders. In: Thapar A, Pine DS, Leckman JF, et al., editors. Rutter's child and adolescent psychiatry. 6th ed. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons; 2015. p. 1035 54.
29. Nasiri Konari F. Somatic and psychological symptoms of somatic symptom disorder: temperament dimensions, alexithymia, emotion dysregulation [Persian] [dissertation]. Tabriz: University of Tabriz; 2024.
30. Purnouri Khaljan S. Structural relationship of family emotional climate, interpersonal sensitivity, and couples' psychosomatic problems with the mediation of communication skills [Persian] [master's thesis]. Tabriz: Shahid Madani University; 2024.
31. Dadenjad K. Predicting psychosomatic diseases based on family functioning and emotion regulation in students of Islamic Azad University of Dehdasht [Persian] [master's thesis]. Gachsaran: Islamic Azad University; 2018.
32. Nouri A. Identifying the role of family interactions on the experience of pain in individuals with psychosomatic problems [Persian] [master's thesis]. Tehran: Allameh Tabatabaei University; 2022.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The journal is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution - You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions - You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
