CROSS-VALIDATION OF THE FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE 20-ITEM TORONTO ALEXITHYMIA SCALE - AN ITALIAN MULTICENTER STUDY

The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) has been shown in previ ous research to measure a general dimension of alexithymia with three intercorrelated factors. This study evaluated the reliability and fact orial validity of an Italian translation of the TAS-20 in a group of n ormal adults (N=206) and in a mixed group of medical and psychiatric o utpatients (N=642). Using confirmatory factor analyses, the previously established three-factor model of the TAS-20 was found to be replicab le in both groups. In addition, the Italian TAS-20 demonstrated adequa te estimates of internal reliability and test-retest reliability. Alth ough evaluation of the convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validi ty of the TAS-20 is required in Italian populations, the present resul ts support the use of the Italian translation of the scale for clinica l and research purposes. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Inc.