Effects of grade and gender on alexithymic tendencies in Japanese junior high school students

Abstract

This study developed the Alexithymia Scale for Adolescents (ASA), based on previous studies, and aimed to clarify the effects of grade and gender on alexithymic tendencies during junior high school (aged 12–15 years). The results of confirmatory factor analysis and the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the subscales revealed that the model with the following three original factors showed the best fit: difficulty identifying feelings (DIF), difficulty describing feelings (DDF), and externally-oriented thinking (EOT). Analysis of ASA data for 1 241 junior high school students (647 boys and 594 girls)revealed the following: 1) The mean ASA score was relatively high (M=53.92, SD=9.60) in comparison with previous adult studies. 2) The overall effect of grade was significant(p