Psychometric properties of the observer alexithymia scale in a clinical sample

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of th e Observer Alexithymia Scale (OAS; Haviland, Warren, & Riggs, 2000) in a cl inical setting Clinical and counseling psychologists used the OAS to rate o utpatients (n = 192) with various Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Ment al Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) diagnoses. Reliabilit y and validity data are similar to the initial nonclinical data (n = 819): OAS scores are reliable (coefficient alpha = .90), and the five-factor stru cture-Distant, Uninsightful, Somatizing, Humorless, and Ri.-id-was confirme d. Moreover, the OAS does a relatively good job of differentiating clinical from nonclinical cases. The OAS is psychometrically sound, and it appears to be a useful tool for collecting and evaluating observer data on the clin ically relevant, everyday expressions of alexithymia.