title: Assessing measurement and predictive invariance of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 in U.S. Anglo and U.S. Hispanic student samples.
abstract: We collected data from a predominately Anglo American student sample in the Southeastern United States and a predominately Hispanic student sample in the Southwestern United States. Along with an assessment of internal consistency reliability, we examined measurement invariance of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) using confirmatory factor analysis. We also assessed the predictive invariance of the TAS-20. Results indicate that 2 of the 3 TAS-20 subscales demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency reliability across samples. Items from the TAS-20 subscales demonstrated measurement invariance of the latent means. The relationship between 2 measures of emotional dysfunction and the TAS-20 also demonstrated slope and intercept invariance, indicating equivalent validity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Criminal Justice, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA. sculhane@uwyo.edu
authors.forename: Scott E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Culhane
authors.forename: Osvaldo F
authors.initials: OF
authors.lastname: Morera
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Roger E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Millsap
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015206:Southwestern United States; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult