OVERENIE RELIABILITY A FAKTOROVEJ VALIDITY SLOVENSKEJ VERZIE DOTAZNÍKA TORONTO ALEXITHYMIA SCALE-20 NA SÚBORE SLOVENSKÝCH ŠTUDENTIEK.

Objectives. The aim of the present study was to adapt the English self-report questionnaire Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) to Slovak conditions, as well as to evaluate its reliability and to investigate its 3-factor structure reported by the authors. TAS-20 is used to measure the construct of alexithymia and its 3 components identified by the authors (i.e. difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings and externally-oriented thinking). Subjects and setting. After having done a backtranslation in cooperation with the author of TAS-20, its reliability and factor validity was evaluated within the sample of 242 university female students. Statistical analysis. The structure of TAS-20 questionnaire was examined via confirmatory factor analysis (maximum likelihood procedure). Cronbach coefficients alpha were calculated to assess internal consistency aspect of reliability of the TAS-20 scale and its subscales. Results. It has been shown that TAS-20 represents a reliable measurement instrument. Although the results of CFA supported the 3-factor structure of the Slovak version of TAS-20 they indicated the appropriateness/ plausibility of its alternative 4-factor solution as well. Study limitation. (a) measurement of alexithymia is self-reported; (b) the findings are limited to a sample of university female students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]