Alexithymia: reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale

This study was conducted to explore reliability and validity from the Spanish version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS). An alpha coefficient of 0.78, and a test-retest reliability of 0.83 over a 3-week period were obtained. In a sample of 111 college students, TAS correlated strongly and positively with the hypochondriasis subscale of the MMPI and with a somatization disorder questionnaire, but negatively with measures of sociability and psychological mindedness. In addition, factor analysis showed the TAS to have a stable, replicable factor structure. These findings suggest that this Spanish adaptation of the TAS is a psychometrically sound measure of the alexithymia construct.