Factorial validity of the 20‐item Toronto Alexithymia Scale

The 20‐item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS‐20) was developed in previous research to measure a general dimension of alexithymia with three inter correlated factors. These three factors reflect distinct facets of the alexithymia construct: (1) difficulty identifying feelings and distinguishing them from the bodily sensations of emotion, (2) difficulty describing feelings to others, and (3) an externally orientated style of thinking. This study tested the three‐factor model for the TAS‐20, using confirmatory factor analysis, in separate samples of young adults from Germany, Canada, and the United States. The previously established three‐factor model was found to be replicable in all three samples. In addition, the full TAS‐20 and its three factors demonstrated adequate internal reliability in all three samples. Although evaluation of the convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity of the TAS‐20 is required in diverse cultural groups, the present results provide evidence for the factorial validity and internal reliability of the TAS‐20.

[1]  L Atkinson,et al.  Alexithymia: a comparative study of three self-report measures. , 1988, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[2]  G. Taylor.  Psychoanalysis and psychosomatics: a new synthesis. , 1992, The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis.

[3]  R. Bagby,et al.  Validation of the Alexithymia Construct: A Measurement-Based Approach * , 1990, Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie.

[4]  David Mechanic,et al.  Sex, Illness, Illness Behavior, and the Use of Health Services , 1976 .

[5]  M. Torem,et al.  Development of an Analog Alexithymia Scale. Testing in a nonpatient population. , 1986, Psychotherapy and psychosomatics.

[6]  R. Hogan,et al.  The meaning of personality test scores. , 1988 .

[7]  R. Lane,et al.  Interhemispheric transfer deficit and alexithymia. , 1989, The American journal of psychiatry.

[8]  D. Cole.  Utility of confirmatory factor analysis in test validation research. , 1987, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[9]  M. V. Rad,et al.  Towards a Theory of Psychosomatic Disorders , 1977 .

[10]  G. Bishop.  Gender, role, and illness behavior in a military population. , 1984, Health Psychology.

[11]  G. Taylor.  The alexithymia construct: Conceptualization, validation, and relationship with basic dimensions of personality. , 1994 .

[12]  M. Hendryx,et al.  Dimensions of alexithymia and their relationships to anxiety and depression. , 1991, Journal of personality assessment.

[13]  G. Groth-Marnat.  Handbook of Psychological Assessment , 2016 .

[14]  I. Lesser,et al.  Current concepts in psychiatry. Alexithymia. , 1985, New England Journal of Medicine.

[15]  R. Bagby,et al.  The alexithymia construct. A potential paradigm for psychosomatic medicine. , 1991, Psychosomatics.

[16]  G. Edwards.  DRUG DEPENDENCE: Aspects of ego functions , 1971 .

[17]  P. Sifneos,et al.  Alexithymia: concept and measurement. , 1979, Psychotherapy and psychosomatics.

[18]  James C. Anderson,et al.  The effect of sampling error on convergence, improper solutions, and goodness-of-fit indices for maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis , 1984 .

[19]  L. Eitinger.  Massive Psychic Trauma , 1979 .

[20]  D V Cicchetti,et al.  Assessment of alexithymia in posttraumatic stress disorder and somatic illness: introduction of a reliable measure. , 1986, Psychosomatic medicine.

[21]  R. Bagby,et al.  Reassessing the validity and reliability of the MMPI Alexithymia Scale. , 1991, Journal of personality assessment.

[22]  R. Bagby,et al.  A preliminary investigation of alexithymia in men with psychoactive substance dependence. , 1990, The American journal of psychiatry.

[23]  R. P. McDonald,et al.  Goodness-of-fit indexes in confirmatory factor analysis : The effect of sample size , 1988 .

[24]  J. Flannery.  Alexithymia. I. The communication of physical symptoms. , 1977, Psychotherapy and psychosomatics.

[25]  R. Bagby,et al.  Alexithymia and somatic complaints in psychiatric out-patients. , 1992, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[26]  R. Bagby,et al.  Measurement of alexithymia. Recommendations for clinical practice and future research. , 1988, The Psychiatric clinics of North America.

[27]  P E Sifneos,et al.  The prevalence of 'alexithymic' characteristics in psychosomatic patients. , 1973, Psychotherapy and psychosomatics.

[28]  G J Taylor,et al.  Toward the development of a new self-report alexithymia scale. , 1985, Psychotherapy and psychosomatics.

[29]  R. G. Ley,et al.  6 – Right Hemispheric Involvement in Imagery and Affect1 , 1983 .

[30]  R. Bagby,et al.  Cross-validation of the factor structure of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. , 1990, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[31]  E. Koff,et al.  5 – Right Hemispheric Specialization for the Expression and Appreciation of Emotion: A Focus on the Face1 , 1983 .

[32]  M. Acklin,et al.  Alexithymia and Somatization: A Rorschach Study of Four Psychosomatic Groups , 1988, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[33]  D. Tucker,et al.  Sex differences and lateral specialization of hemispheric functioning , 1976, Neuropsychologia.

[34]  R. Bagby,et al.  The alexithymia construct: relationship with sociodemographic variables and intelligence. , 1989, Comprehensive psychiatry.

[35]  G J Taylor,et al.  Alexithymia: concept, measurement, and implications for treatment. , 1984, The American journal of psychiatry.

[36]  J. Salonen,et al.  Alexithymia and perceived symptoms: criterion validity of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. , 1991, Psychotherapy and psychosomatics.

[37]  R. Bagby,et al.  Alexithymia in Women with Anorexia Nervosa , 1992, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[38]  R. Bagby,et al.  Problems with measuring alexithymia. , 1991, Psychosomatics.

[39]  Test Construction , 1976, International anesthesiology clinics.

[40]  R. Lane,et al.  Levels of emotional awareness: a cognitive-developmental theory and its application to psychopathology. , 1987, The American journal of psychiatry.

[41]  P. Powers.  Anorexia Nervosa: A Multidimensional Perspective , 1984 .

[42]  M. Hendryx,et al.  Multidimensionality and State Dependency of Alexithymia in Recently Sober Alcoholics , 1991, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[43]  A. Comrey.  Factor-analytic methods of scale development in personality and clinical psychology. , 1988, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[44]  P. Sifneos.  The Schalling-Sifneos Personality Scale revised. , 1986, Psychotherapy and psychosomatics.

[45]  N. Norton.  Three scales of alexithymia: do they measure the same thing? , 1989, Journal of personality assessment.

[46]  M. Lansky.  Integration and Self-Healing: Affect, Trauma, Alexithymia , 1990 .

[47]  R. Bagby,et al.  The Revised Toronto Alexithymia Scale: some reliability, validity, and normative data. , 1992, Psychotherapy and psychosomatics.

[48]  J. Parker,et al.  Alexithymia and the processing of emotional stimuli: An experimental study. , 1993 .

[49]  J. H. Kleiger,et al.  The development of an MMPI alexithymia scale. , 1980, Psychotherapy and psychosomatics.

[50]  D F Witelson,et al.  Sex and the single hemisphere: specialization of the right hemisphere for spatial processing. , 1976, Science.