Assessing alexithymia and related emotional ability constructs using multiple methods: interrelationships among measures.
This study examined relationships among various measures of emotional ability reflecting different methods of assessment: self-report, clinical interview, collateral report, and emotion-relevant performance. On 140 young adults, the authors assessed self-reported alexithymia, emotional approach coping, and trait metamood skills; observer-reported alexithymia; interviewer-rated alexithymia; emotional awareness in response to vignettes; and emotional intelligence test performance. There were moderate magnitude correlations among the self-report measures, but correlations among other measures were relatively low. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a 3-factor model in which explicit self, implicit self, and explicit other measures were differentiated. These emotional ability measures do not form a unitary construct but differ as a function of the person providing the information and whether the measure is explicit or implicit.
Lumley
Mark A
MA
Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. mlumley@wayne.edu
Gustavson
Britta J
BJ
Partridge
R Ty
RT
Labouvie-Vief
Gisela
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014342:Truth Disclosure