ASSESSMENT OF ALEXITHYMIA: PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE TORONTO ALEXITHYMIA SCALE (TAS) - A PRELIMINARY REPORT

SUMMARY The present study was aimed at assessing the utility of a scale to measure alexithymia in the Indian cultural set up. Vernacular version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) a newly devised self report alexithymia scale was assessed for its psychometric properties in a sample of 116 normal subjects. The scale was found to have adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Factor analysis with varimax procedure yielded a four factor solution consistent with the construct of alexithymia. The results of the study indicate that the TAS could be a potentially useful instrument to assess alexithymia in our cultural set up.