The alexithymia literature was meta-analyzed to determine whether there was empirical support for gender differences. Our a priori theoretical motivation for expecting higher mean levels of alexithymia in men than in women was based on Levant’s (1992) “Normative Male Alexithymia” hypothesis, which suggests a pattern of restrictive emotionality in traditionally reared men. Some previous works have questioned whether there is a detectable gender difference in alexithymia (i.e., Heesacker et al., 1999; Wester, Vogel, Pressly, & Heesacker, 2002), but they have not comprehensively or empirically cumulated results across studies, although Levant et al.’s (2006) narrative review suggests men tend to score higher than women on average, at least in nonclinical samples. An effect size estimate based on 41 existing samples found consistent, although expectedly small, differences in mean alexithymia between women and men (Hedges’ d = .22). Men exhibited higher levels of alexithymia. There were no significant moderator effects for clinical versus nonclinical populations or alexithymia measure used, although there were relatively few clinical samples and non-TAS measures. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Literally, alexithymia means “without words for emotions.” Sifneos (1967, 1972) originally used the term to describe the extreme difficulty certain psychiatric patients had in identifying and describing their feelings. In addition to these emotional difficulties, the patients had very concrete cognitive styles, used little symbolism and fantasy, and reported impoverished dream states (Campos, Chiva, & Moreau, 2000; Nemiah & Sifneos, 1970). Further, they often demonstrated difficulty both in discerning the emotional states of others (Berenbaum & Prince, 1994; Parker, Taylor, & Bagby, 1993) and displaying empathy in interpersonal relationships (Krystal, 1979).

This pattern was particularly evident in patients with psychosomatic illnesses...