Cross validation of the factor structure of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: an italian multicenter study

The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) has been shown in previous research to measure a general dimension of alexithymia with three intercorrelated lactors. This study evaluated the reliability and factorial validity of an Italian translation of the TAS-70 in a group of normal adults (N=206) and in a mixed group of medical and psychiatric outpatients (K=642). Using confirmatory fac- tor analyses. the previously established three-factor model of the TAS-20 was found to be replicahlc in both groups. In addition, the Italian TAS-20 demonstrated adequate estimates of internal rcliabilitv and test-retest reliability. Although evaluation of the convergent, discriminant. and concurrent validity of the TAS-20 is required in Italian population?, the present results support the use of the Italian transla- tion of the scale for clinical and research purposes. C