Family-of-origin expressiveness: Measurement, meaning, and relationship toalexithymia

The need for research instruments to assess the impact of affective express iveness within the family is evident, yet few appear to be adequately desig ned for this purpose. In this article, we present two studies addressing th is need. In the first study, the original 40-item Family-of-Origin Scale wa s administered to 416 students to determine those items that constitute the factor structure. This instrument was designed to assess perceived levels of health in the family of origin but has unsubstantiated construct validit y. Results from a confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the instrumen t has one major factor; and results from Jive other studies provide evidenc e supporting the construct validity. Face validity of this 22-item construc t indicates that it assesses an individual's perceived level of global expr essive atmosphere within his or her family of origin. In the second study t he new Family-of-Origin Expressive Atmosphere Scale and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale were administered to 295 students. Students' self-report ed expressive atmospheres in their family-of-origin scores were significant ly correlated with the total scores of alexithymia and each of the three fa ctors: impaired ability to identify feelings, impaired ability to describe feelings, and externally oriented thinking processes. No significant gender differences were found.