Psychometric properties of the Finnish 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale

Joukamaa, Matti; Miettunen, Jouko; Kokkonen, Pirkko; Koskinen, Minna; Julkunen, Juhani; Kauhanen, Jussi; Jokelainen, Jari; Veijola, Juha; Läksy, Kristian; Järvelin, Marjo‐Riitta

doi:10.1080/08039480151108561

Cited by 124 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Severity of depression was objectively assessed with the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression [17] and the self-reported severity of depression by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-21) [18]. Alexithymia was assessed using the validated Finnish version [19] of TAS-20, which is a self-report questionnaire. The original English version of the TAS-20 has been validated by Bagby et al [20, 21].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Stability of Alexithymia Over a Five-Year Period in Outpatients with Major Depression

Saarijärvi

Salminen

Toikka

2006

Psychother Psychosom

124

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Background: Previous research on alexithymia and depression has led to a controversy over whether alexithymia should be viewed as a state-dependent phenomenon or as a stable personality trait. The aim of this 5-year follow-up study was to examine the temporal stability of alexithymia in outpatients suffering from major depression. Methods: The study population comprised 116 (49 male and 67 female) outpatients with major depression. Alexithymic features were assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the degree of depression with the Beck Depression Inventory. The patients were retested after a period of 5 years. Results: Mean alexithymia and depression scores decreased significantly over the 5-year period. Alexithymia and depression were associated with each other, but the high test-retest correlations in the TAS-20 scores indicate relative stability of alexithymia. The three factors of alexithymia behaved differently. Difficulty in identifying feelings and difficulty in describing feelings were associated with alleviation of depressive symptoms, whereas externally oriented thinking was not. Conclusions: Alexithymia seems to be related with the severity of depression in outpatients with major depression, but it also shows relative stability over 5 years. Our findings support the view that the alexithymia construct represents a stable personality trait, but is also a state-dependent phenomenon.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Stability of Alexithymia Over a Five-Year Period in Outpatients with Major Depression

Saarijärvi

Salminen

Toikka

2006

Psychother Psychosom

124

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“…The TAS-20 has been cross-validated in different languages, for example Italian (Bressi et al, 1996), Finnish (Joukamaa et al, 2001), Japanese (Komaki et al, 2003), Hindi (Pandey, Mandal, Taylor, & Parker, 1996), German (Parker, Bagby, Taylor, Endler, & Smithz, 1993), and Swedish (Simonsson-Sarnecki et al, 2000; for a review see ; and in different populations, like community populations , clinical versus non-clinical populations (Loas et al, 2001), and different cultures (Parker, Shaughnessy, Wood, Majeski, & Eastabrook, 2005). originally proposed a three-factor structure with factor 1: difficulty identifying feelings (DIF), factor 2: difficulty describing feelings (DDF), and factor 3: externally oriented thinking Factorial Validity 4 (EOT).…”

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confidence: 99%

Factorial Validity and Measurement Invariance of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in Clinical and Nonclinical Samples

2008

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The most widely used instrument to measure alexithymia is the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). However, different factor structures have been found in different languages. This study tests six published factor models and metric invariance across clinical and nonclinical samples. It also investigated whether there is a method effect of the negatively keyed items. Second-order models with alexithymia as a higher order factor are tested. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the original factor model with three factors—difficulty identifying feelings (DIF); difficulty describing feelings (DDF) and externally oriented thinking (EOT)—is the best fitting model. Partial measurement invariance across samples was illustrated but requires further study. A weakness of the model is the low internal consistency of the third factor. Because models with a method factor had a better fit, future reconsideration of the negatively formulated items seems necessary. No evidence was found for the second-order models.

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“…The diagnoses were made by using an appropriate interview technique. The psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the TAS-20 have been shown to be satisfactory [29]. A notable factor in the intervention process was the multi professional working group; and the fact that the working group remained the same during the entire process from 2004-2009 ensuring quality and consistency in the intervention process.…”

Section: Strengthsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Its internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity have been demonstrated to be good [25][26][27][28]. The psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the TAS-20 have been shown to be satisfactory [29]. The items are rated on a 5-point scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree".…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of an Early Rehabilitation on Alexithymia among First Ever Depressive Occupational Health Care Clients

2014

J Depress Anxiety

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Objectives: Depression is a common psychiatric disorder. Alexithymia and depression are highly associated. We explored the impact of an early vocationally orientated, eclectic rehabilitative intervention on alexithymia among clients with first ever diagnosed depressive episode. Methods:Clients from occupational health care units were screened for depression with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and diagnosed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. The participants were randomized into intervention and control groups. The intervention group received eclectic early rehabilitative intervention and the control group was treated as usual. The intervention (N=134) and control groups (N=100) were compared using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) at the baseline and after one year follow-up. Results:The prevalence of alexithymia decreased both in the intervention group (from 20.1% to 18.9%) and in the control group (from 16.0% to 7.1%). The prevalence of alexithymia was significantly lower at the follow up in the control group than in the intervention group (p=0.010). The changes in the mean scores of the four alexithymia variables between the groups were not statistically significant after adjusting for confounding factors. Conclusions:The findings were against our hypothesis that alexithymia would diminish in the intervention group more than in the control group. There are several explanations for this unexpected result. We believe that the reasons were that the intervention was too short and that the group-shaped method was too demanding for the subjects with alexithymia.

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Psychometric properties of the Finnish 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale

Cited by 124 publications

References 18 publications

Temporal Stability of Alexithymia Over a Five-Year Period in Outpatients with Major Depression

Temporal Stability of Alexithymia Over a Five-Year Period in Outpatients with Major Depression

Factorial Validity and Measurement Invariance of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in Clinical and Nonclinical Samples

The Effect of an Early Rehabilitation on Alexithymia among First Ever Depressive Occupational Health Care Clients

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