Improving the measurement of alexithymia in autistic adults: a psychometric investigation and refinement of the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by difficulties interpreting one's own emotional states, is commonly elevated in autistic adults, and a growing body of literature suggests that this trait underlies a number of cognitive and emotional differences previously attributed to autism, such as difficulties in facial emotion recognition and reduced empathy. Although questionnaires such as the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) are frequently used to measure alexithymia in the autistic population, few studies have attempted to determine the psychometric properties of these questionnaires in autistic adults, including whether differential item functioning (I-DIF) exists between autistic and general population adults.

Methods

We conducted an in-dept

SUBMITTER: Williams ZJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7971146 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature