relationship between alexithymic characteristics of children with congenital heart disease and their attitudes towards their disease

Background: children born with heart disease are expected to exhibit certain behaviors and attempt to cope with their condition due to their disease. objectives: the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the alexithymic characteristics of children diagnosed with congenital heart disease (chd) and their attitudes towards their illness. methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted with children aged 11 - 14 years who have chd. the effects of children's alexithymic characteristics on their attitudes towards their own diseases were examined by regression analysis of the data. a stratified sampling method was used in sample selection. analyses were performed using the spss program and evaluated at a significance level of 0.05. results: a negative correlation was determined between the mean score of the alexithymia scale for children (asc) and the mean score of the attitudes towards illness scale for children (catis) (r = -0.48, r² = 0.23, p < 0.05). accordingly, alexithymia explains 23% of the attitudes of children towards their illnesses. conclusions: it is necessary to conduct more detailed studies to address the reflections of alexithymic behaviors on the disease process of children.