title: A Swedish translation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: cross-validation of the factor structure.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop a new Swedish translation of the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and to examine if the theoretical structure that underlies the factor structure of the English version of the TAS-20 could be recovered in this Swedish translation of the instrument. A sample of 157 undergraduate students of psychology was tested. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the previously established three-factor TAS-20 model was found to be replicable in this sample. In addition, the Swedish translation of the TAS-20 showed adequate internal reliability. The present study also illustrates the importance of using back translation methodology when transposing psychometric instruments from one language to another.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology Stockholm University, Sweden. msi@psychology.su.se
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simonsson-Sarnecki
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Lundh
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Törestad
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Bagby
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013548:Sweden; D014177:Translations