Psychometric Properties and Configural Invariance of the Polish – Language Version of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in Non-clinical and Alcohol Addict Persons

AIM: The development and assessment of the psychometric properties of the Polish-language version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby et al., 1994a, b) is described in this article. The aim of this study was to translate the TAS – 20 into Polish and establish the psychometric properties of this instrument evaluating alexithymia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected via self-report measures from a total sample of 676 participants: a total of 180 participants (115 males and 65 females) diagnosed with alcohol dependence, and 496 control group (347 males and 149 females). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses found the factor structure of the original English-language TAS 20 for the three subscales translated into Polish: Difficulty in Identifying Feeling (DIF); Difficulty in Describing Feeling (DDF); Externally Oriented Thinking (EOT). All three subscales showed good internal consistency in non-clinical group and two subscales, DIF and DDF in alcohol addict group. Several EOT items loaded poorly on their intended factor. CONCLUSION: The results from the present study indicate that the Polish version of the TAS - 20 is a reliable and valid measure of alexithymia with good levels of internal consistency, homogeneity, and construct validity. We conclude that the TAS-20 has, for the most part, adequate psychometric properties, though interpretation should focus only on the total scale score and DIF and DDF subscales, especially in clinical groups.