D-042 | From bodily numbness to social connection: unveiling the relationship between depersonalization and social touch

Cognition, Behavior, and Memory
Author: Nadia Alejandra Dowzuk | Email: ndowzuk.nps@gmail.com

Nadia Alejandra Dowzuk^1°, Martina Nayla Gallo^2°, Paula Celeste Salamone^3°,  Rebeca Boehme^4°

^1° Faculty of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
^2° Faculty of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
^3° Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
^4° Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.

This study explores the relationship between depersonalisation symptoms, social contact seeking and acceptance, self-concept clarity and psychological factors in a large sample of Argentinean participants (N=273). Through an online study, we assessed participants’ acceptance or willingness to receive physical contact from strangers, friends/family and intimate partners. Replicating previous research, we found that people with closer social ties show a higher acceptance of physical contact. Acceptance of contact from intimate partners was related to greater self-concept clarity and lower symptoms of depersonalisation. However, there was no conclusive relationship between depersonalisation symptoms and seeking or accepting social contact. Higher levels of depersonalisation were associated with greater avoidance of social contact and lower self-concept clarity. We conducted a mediation analysis that indicated that social contact avoidance partially mediates the relationship between depersonalisation and self-concept clarity. Furthermore, depersonalisation was associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression and negative affect, as well as lower levels of positive affect and life satisfaction. Our findings underscore the importance of considering physical contact in the development of therapeutic interventions for depersonalisation.