Validation of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale with Substance Abusers

The purposes of this paper were to complete factor and item analyses of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) in a sample of mixed substance abusers and to examine the correlations between patients' TAS scores and other variables. Results indicate that the TAS is a reliable, valid measure of alex...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychotherapy and psychosomatics 1988-01, Vol.50 (2), p.81-87
Main Authors: Haviland, Mark G., Shaw, Dale G., MacMurray, James P., Cummings, Michael A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affective Symptoms - diagnosis
Affective Symptoms - psychology
Aged
Alcoholism - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Depressive Disorder - psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Nosology. Terminology. Diagnostic criteria
Personality Tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Substance-Related Disorders - psychology
Techniques and methods
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Summary:The purposes of this paper were to complete factor and item analyses of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) in a sample of mixed substance abusers and to examine the correlations between patients' TAS scores and other variables. Results indicate that the TAS is a reliable, valid measure of alexithymia for substance abusers. The factor structure we found is congruent with the theoretical construct and is similar to those published in the normative studies; coefficient alpha reliability was 0.68. Additionally, a high percentage of the subjects (50.4%) scored in the alexithymic range while 24% had scores in the nonalexithymic range. Patients' TAS scores were positively associated with Beck Depression Inventory scores, with a reported paternal history of alcoholism, and with attempted suicide; TAS scores were negatively associated with being Black.
ISSN:0033-3190
1423-0348
DOI:10.1159/000288104