The 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. III. Reliability and factorial validity in a community population.

OBJECTIVE Some researchers have questioned the stability of the three-factor structure of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) or the reliability of one or more factors of the scale. The aim of this study was to assess the replicability of the factor structure of the TAS-20 in a large community sample and to determine also whether the same three-factor structure can be recovered in men and women. The study also assessed the reliability of the scale and the influence of gender, age, and education on TAS-20 scores. METHOD The TAS-20 was administered to 1933 adults (880 men and 1053 women) residing in several small cities and towns in Ontario, Canada. The factor structure of the scale was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). RESULTS The three-factor structure of the TAS-20 was replicable in the entire community sample and also separately in men and women. The TAS-20 and its three factors demonstrated internal reliability, and the variables of gender, age, and education accounted for relatively small or modest amounts of variability in total TAS-20 and factor scale scores. CONCLUSION The results provide strong support for the reliability and factorial validity of the TAS-20 and indicate the importance of using CFA when assessing the replicability and theoretical integrity of the factor structure of the scale.

[1]  G J Taylor,et al.  The Twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale--II. Convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. , 1994, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[2]  M. Newcomb,et al.  Drug use and intimate relationships among women and men: separating specific from general effects in prospective data using structural equation models. , 1994, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[3]  J. Francis.  Statistica for Windows , 1995 .

[4]  R. Gonzalez.  Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences , 2003 .

[5]  Erkki Äärelä,et al.  Prevalence of alexithymia and its association with sociodemographic variables in the general population of Finland. , 1999, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[6]  N. Frasure-smith,et al.  Alexithymia following myocardial infarction: psychometric properties and correlates of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. , 2001, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[7]  R. Bagby,et al.  The 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: IV. Reliability and factorial validity in different languages and cultures , 2003 .

[8]  P. Salovey,et al.  Selecting a measure of emotional intelligence: The case for ability scales. , 2000 .

[9]  B. Bermond,et al.  Validity and reliability of the Bermond–Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire , 2001 .

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

[11]  P. Bentler,et al.  Comparative fit indexes in structural models. , 1990, Psychological bulletin.

[12]  D Fremaux,et al.  Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the French Translation of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale , 1997, Perceptual and motor skills.

[13]  P. Porcelli,et al.  Criterion-Related Validity of the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research for Alexithymia in Patients with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders , 2001, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

[14]  J. Guelfi,et al.  Factorial structure of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: confirmatory factorial analyses in nonclinical and clinical samples. , 2001, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[15]  M. Browne,et al.  Alternative Ways of Assessing Model Fit , 1992 .

[16]  L. Kirmayer,et al.  Languages of Suffering Healing: Alexithymia as a Social and Cultural process , 1987 .

[17]  J. H. Steiger.  Structural Model Evaluation and Modification: An Interval Estimation Approach. , 1990, Multivariate behavioral research.

[18]  K. Dion.  Ethnolinguistic correlates of alexithymia: toward a cultural perspective. , 1996, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[19]  D Fremaux,et al.  Factor analysis of the French version of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). , 1996, Psychopathology.

[20]  Richard D Lane,et al.  Is Alexithymia the Emotional Equivalent of Blindsight? , 1997, Biological Psychiatry.

[21]  R. Bagby,et al.  The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale--I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. , 1994, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[22]  M. G. Haviland,et al.  An observer scale to measure alexithymia. , 2000, Psychosomatics.

[23]  T. Erni,et al.  Two-factor solution of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale confirmed. , 1997, Psychopathology.

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

[25]  S. Cossette,et al.  Cross-Cultural Validation of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in U.S. and Peruvian Populations , 2001 .

[26]  S. Briggs,et al.  The role of factor analysis in the development and evaluation of personality scales , 1986 .

[27]  B. Einspruch.  Disorders of Affect Regulation: Alexithymia in Medical and Psychiatric Illness , 1998 .

[28]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[29]  P. Bentler.  Comparative Fit Indices in Structural Models , 1990 .

[30]  R. Lane,et al.  Sociodemographic correlates of alexithymia. , 1998, Comprehensive psychiatry.

[31]  Murakami Shuji,et al.  Development of the Structured Interview by the Modified Edition of Beth Israel Hospital Psychosomatic Questionnaire (SIBIQ) in Japanese Edition to Evaluate Alexithymia , 2002 .

[32]  R. Bagby,et al.  Assessment of alexithymia : self-report and observer-rated measures , 2000 .

[33]  J. Nunnally.  Psychometric Theory (2nd ed), New York: McGraw-Hill. , 1978 .

[34]  S. Reise,et al.  Structure of the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. , 1996, Journal of personality assessment.

[35]  M. Lumley.  Alexithymia and negative emotional conditions. , 2000, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[36]  R. Lane,et al.  Impaired Verbal and Nonverbal Emotion Recognition in Alexithymia , 1996, Psychosomatic medicine.

[37]  M. Tapia.  Measuring Emotional Intelligence , 2001, Psychological reports.

[38]  C. Marchesi,et al.  Are alexithymia, depression, and anxiety distinct constructs in affective disorders? , 2000, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[39]  C. Carver,et al.  PERSONALITY PROCESSES AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES How Should Multifaceted Personality Constructs Be Tested ? Issues Illustrated by Self-Monitoring , Attributional Style , and Hardiness , 2004 .

[40]  C. Shapiro.  Alexithymia--a useful concept for all psychiatrists? , 1996, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[41]  R. Kline,et al.  Latent variable path analysis in clinical research: a beginner's tour guide. , 1991, Journal of clinical psychology.

[42]  M. de Zwaan,et al.  Independency of alexithymia and somatization. A factor analytic study. , 1996, Psychosomatics.

[43]  S. Bressi,et al.  Cross validation of the factor structure of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: an Italian multicenter study. , 1996, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[44]  J. Averill,et al.  Individual differences in emotional creativity: structure and correlates. , 1999, Journal of personality.

[45]  M. Hautekèete,et al.  Alexithymia is associated with a low self-estimatedaffective intensity fn2 fn2 This work is a part of the Ph.D.thesis of the first author. , 1999 .

[46]  P. Bentler.  On the fit of models to covariances and methodology to the Bulletin. , 1992, Psychological bulletin.

[47]  L. Stankov,et al.  Emotional intelligence: in search of an elusive construct. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[48]  Norman S. Endler,et al.  Factorial validity of the 20‐item Toronto Alexithymia Scale , 1993 .

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

[50]  D. Watkins,et al.  The role of confirmatory factor analysis in cross-cultural research , 1989 .

[51]  R. Bagby,et al.  An overview of the alexithymia construct. , 2000 .

[52]  R. Prince.  III Alexithymia and Verbal Psychotherapies in Cultural Context , 1987 .

[53]  M. G. Haviland,et al.  Alexithymia in women and men hospitalized for psychoactive substance dependence. , 1994, Comprehensive psychiatry.