Abstract
Zusammenfassung: Eine deutsche Übersetzung der Toronto Alexithymie Skala (TAS) wurde an einer Studentenstichprobe (N = 228) auf ihre Faktorenstruktur und ihre psychometrischen Kennwerte hin überprüft. Anhand einer zweiten Stichprobe (N = 170) wurden die Zusammenhänge der Unterskalen der TAS mit Absorption untersucht, sowie mit Fragebogenskalen zu Beschwerdenäußerung, habitueller Gestimmtheit, Kontrollüberzeugung zu Krankheit und Gesundheit, Ärgerausdruck und defensiver Bewältigung. Die konfirmatorischen Faktorenanalysen (FA) sprachen für eine Mehrdimensionalität der TAS, mit einem Faktor zum Identifizieren, Differenzieren und Beschreiben von Gefühlen (TAS-ID), sowie zwei Faktoren des external orientierten Denkens. Die korrelierten TAS-Unterskalen zum external orientierten Denken, «Mangelnde Wichtigkeit von Emotionen» (TAS-WI) und «pragmatische Haltung» (TAS-PR), zeigten deutlich geringere Konsistenz als die von beiden relativ unabhängige Unterskala zu TAS-ID. Eine hierarchisch-oblique FA ergab keinen Sekundärfaktor im Sinne eines übergreifenden Alexithymiekonstrukts. Es ergaben sich widersprüchliche Zusammenhänge der TAS-Unterskalen mit der Absorption-Skala und weiteren Fragebogeninstrumenten. Es wird geschlossen, daß die TAS-Unterskalen kein einheitliches Alexithymiekonstrukt abbilden und daß weitere Untersuchungen zu Alexithymie auf Untermerkmale konzentriert werden sollten.
Abstract: The psychometric quality and factorial structure of a German version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was examined in a students sample (N = 228). In an additional student sample (N = 170) we studied the correlations of TAS-subscales with absorption as well as with questionnaires of physical complaints, habitual mood, locus of control concerning health and disease, anger expression, and defensive coping. Results of confirmatory factor analysis favoured a multidimensional structure of the TAS, with one factor for identifying, differentiating and describing emotions (TAS-ID), and two factors of externally oriented thinking, «low importance of emotions» (TAS-WI) and «pragmatical attitude» (TAS-PR). Subscales of the latter two factors were positively correlated and were lower in Internal Consistency than TAS-ID, which was independent of TAS-WI and TAS-PR. No evidence for a secondary alexithymia factor was produced by hierarchical-oblique factor analysis. TAS-subscales showed conflicting correlations with the absorption scale and other questionnaire measures. We conclude that the TAS-subscales do not measure a unified construct of alexithymia. Further research with the present TAS should be restricted to the levels of these subscales.
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