title: Psychometric properties of the 20-item toronto alexithymia scale and prevalence of alexithymia in a finnish adolescent population.
abstract: The authors assessed, in an adolescent population sample, the internal consistency, test-retest stability, and factor structure of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and established the frequency of alexithymia in this age-group. Pupils (N=882; age-groups: 14-, 15-, and 16-year-olds) from two secondary schools completed the TAS-20 questionnaire twice, with a 5-week interval, in a classroom survey setting. TAS total and subscale scores and proportion of subjects exceeding the cut-point for alexithymia are reported for boys and girls. In confirmatory factor analysis, all estimates except one item were statistically significant; there was no gender difference. The authors conclude that the TAS-20 has good psychometric properties in adolescent samples. Alexithymia rate decreases from early to middle adolescence and remains essentially on a level similar to that among adults.
authors.affiliation: Tampere University Hospital, Psychiatric Treatment and Research Unit for Adolescent Intensive Care (EVA), 33380 Pitkäniemi, Finland.
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Säkkinen
authors.forename: Riittakerttu
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaltiala-Heino
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ranta
authors.forename: Riina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Haataja
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Joukamaa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires