Psychometric properties of the 20-item toronto alexithymia scale in a group of Italian younger adolescents

Abstract

Objective : Alexithymia is a personality construct that inhibits and interferes with normal affect regulating abilities. The purpose of our study was to assess psychometric properties of TAS-20 in younger adolescents. Methods : Data were collected from 508 younger adolescents (48.8% male and 51.2% female) with a mean age of 12.56 years (DS=0.50, range: 12-13 years). We administered the following scales: 20-Item-Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Results : The confirmatory factor analysis performed on the second random subsample showed reasonable goodness-of-fit for the oblique bi-factorial model: [chi]2 (32, n=254)=54.22; p=0.008; χ2/df=1.69; NNFI=0.92; CFI=0.95; SRMR=0.05; RMSEA=0.05; 90% confidence interval=0.027–0.078. Conclusion : Based on the outcomes of our research we support the idea of evaluating adolescents for alexithymia.