Psychometrics of the Schalling-Sifneos and Toronto Alexithymia Scales

Two measures of alexithymia, the Schalling-Sifneos (SSPS) and the Toronto Scales (TAS) were administered to 178 male and female undergraduate students. For both measures alexithymia appears to decrease with age. Five factors for the TAS were retained accounting for 35% of the variance and for the SSPS a three-factor solution was determined accounting for 53% of the variance. The robustness of the solution analyzed with the TAS reflected greater stability. The factor structure of the TAS seemed more consistent with the concept of alexithymia than that of the SSPS.