title: Alexithymia following myocardial infarction: psychometric properties and correlates of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose was to explore the psychometrics and correlates of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) after myocardial infarction (MI).
  
  
  METHODS
  The TAS-20 and other self-report measures were administered 3-6 months after discharge to 1443 patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Good internal reliability was confirmed for the total TAS-20 and two subscales (F1 and F2). The F3 showed low internal consistency linked to negatively keyed items. The prevalence of alexithymia was 30.2% at the first interview. Alexithymics were older, less educated, more likely to have previous MIs and had higher scores on all measures of negative emotions. Six-month test-retest reliability was.47 (n=167). Residual change score analysis showed patients with more education and a first MI had greater decreases in alexithymia than expected.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The TAS-20 has adequate internal consistency in post-MI patients, and its correlates are similar to other reports. Low temporal stability suggests that secondary alexithymia is important after MI.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Frasure-Smith
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lespérance
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data