Aim of the study:
Alexithymia is a personal trait in which the individual is unable to identify and describe their emotions. The main features of alexithymia: an inability to recognize and identity feelings, use of language to describe the feelings and the inability to distinguish between emotions and bodily symptoms. The aim of the present study was to examine the rates of alexithymia among Polish students in the relationships to specific faculties of studies, sociodemographic variables and the impact of family problems.

Subject or material and methods:
The study group consisted of 1125 participants form 27 Polish universities, 869 women and 256 men, aged from 18 to 40. All participants completed the authors’ sociodemographic questionnaire and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale – 26.

Results:
Among the surveyed students, more than a half of them (56%, n=635) were characterized by a high level of alexithymia. It was correlated positively with alcohol abuse in the family of origin (p=.02) and domestic violence experienced by respondents (p=.03). There were no significant correlations between alexithymia, gender and faculties of study (p>.05).

Discussion:
Gender and faculties of study do not have an influence on the prevalence of alexithymia. The results indicate that family problems and alexithymia are positively correlated.

Conclusions:
From the research that has been carried out, it is possible to conclude that alexithymia is widespread among Polish students.