Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20)
Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20)Authors: R. Michael Bagby, James D. A. Parker and Graeme J. Taylor
The TAS is a 20-item instrument that is one of the most commonly used measures of alexithymia. Alexithymia refers to people who have trouble identifying and describing emotions and who tend to minimise emotional experience and focus attention externally.
The TAS-20 has 3 subscales:
• Difficulty Describing Feelings subscale is used to measure difficulty describing emotions. 5 items – 2, 4, 11, 12, 17.
• Difficulty Identifying Feeling subscale is used to measure difficulty identifying emotions. 7 items – 1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14.
• Externally-Oriented Thinking subscale is used to measure the tendency of individuals to focus their attention externally. 8 items – 5, 8, 10, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20.
Scoring: The TAS-20 is a self-report scale that is comprised of 20 items. Items are rated using a 5-point Likert scale whereby 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree. There are 5 items that are negatively keyed (items 4, 5, 10, 18 and 19). The total alexithymia score is the sum of responses to all 20 items, while the score for each subscale factor is the sum of the responses to that subscale. The TAS-20 uses cutoff scoring: equal to or less than 51 = non-alexithymia, equal to or greater than 61 = alexithymia. Scores of 52 to 60 = possible alexithymia.
Reliability: Demonstrates good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .81) and test-retest reliability (.77, p<.01). Validity: Research using the TAS-20 demonstrates adequate levels of convergent and concurrent validity. The 3 factor structure was found to be theoretically congruent with the alexithymia construct. In addition, it has been found to be stable and replicable across clinical and nonclinical populations.
Reference: Bagby, R. M., Parker, J. D. A. & Taylor, G. J. (1994). The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale-I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 38, 23-32." Information quoted from Ciarrochi, J. & Bilich, L. (2006). Process measures of potential relevance to ACT. Unpublished manuscript, University of Wollongong, Australia.
Please see http://www.gtaylorpsychiatry.org/tas.htm for additional details.
TAS-20 - Albanian
TAS-20 - AlbanianArenliu, A., Krasniqi, B., Kelmendi, K., & Statovci, S. (2021). Exploring Factor Validity of 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in Albanian Clinical and Nonclinical Samples. SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020988726
TAS-20 - Arabic
TAS-20 - ArabicEl Abiddine, F. Z., Dave, H., Aldhafri, S., El-Astal, S., Hemaid, F., & Parker, J. D. A. (2017). Cross-validation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: Results from an Arabic multicenter study. Personality and Individual Differences, 113, 219–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.03.017
TAS-20 - Bulgarian
TAS-20 - BulgarianPopov, V., Psederska, E., Peneva, E., Bozgunov, K., Vasilev, G., Nedelchev, D., & Vassileva, J. (2016). Psychometric Characteristics of the Bulgarian Version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Psychological Research, 19(2), 25-42. The Bulgarian translation of the TAS-20 items is in table 1. The full text of the article can be found at venpopov.com
TAS-20 - Chinese
TAS-20 - ChineseYUAN Yonggui, SHEN Zuohua, ZHANG Xiangrong, WU Aiqin, SUN Houchun, ZHANG Ning, ZHANG Xinbao, LI Hailin (2003) The reliability and validity of Toronto alexithymia scale (TAS - 20). SICHUAN MENTAL HEALTH, Year: 2003 Issue: 1, 25-27.
Xiongzhao Zhu, Jinyao Yi, Shuqiao Yao, Andrew G. Ryder, Graeme J. Taylor, & R. Michael Bagby (2007) Cross-cultural validation of a Chinese translation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 48(5), 489-496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2007.04.007
Ling, Y., Zeng, Y., Yuan, H., & Zhong, M. (2016). Cross-cultural validation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in Chinese adolescents. Journal of psychiatric and mental health nursing, 23(3-4), 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12298
TAS-20 - Croatian
TAS-20 - CroatianKusevic, Z., Civljak, M., Rukavina, T. V., Babic, G., Loncar, M., Cusa, B. V., & Gregurek, R. (2013). The Connection between Alexithymia and Somatic Morbidity in a Population of Combat Veterans with Chronic PTSD. Acta informatica medica: AIM: journal of the Society for Medical Informatics of Bosnia & Herzegovina, 21(1), 7–11. https://doi.org/10.5455/AIM.2013.21.7-11
TAS-20 - Czech
TAS-20 - CzechAnna Faltýnková (2018) Souvislost alexithymie a závislosti na online hraní. Thesis. The Czech version of the TAS-20 is in the Appendix.
TAS-20 - Dutch
TAS-20 - DutchKooiman, C. G., Spinhoven, P., & Trijsburg, R. W. (2002). The assessment of alexithymia. A critical review of the literature and a psychometric study of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53, 1083-1090. http://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(02)00348-3
Meganck, R., Vanheule, S., & Desmet, M. (2008). Does the TAS-20 measure alexithymia? A study of natural language use. 28th European Conference on Psychosomatic Research, Abstracts. Presented at the 28th European Conference on Psychosomatic Research (ECPR - 2012).
Inslegers, R., Meganck, R., Ooms, E., Vanheule, S., Bagby, M., Taylor, G., De Fruyt, F., et al. (2013). The Dutch language version of the Toronto structured interview for Alexithymia: reliability, concurrent validity, and factor structure. PSYCHOLOGICA BELGICA, 53(1), 93–116.
TAS-20 - Finnish
TAS-20 - FinnishMatti Joukamaa, Jouko Miettunen, Pirkko Kokkonen, Minna Koskinen, Juhani Julkunen, Jussi Kauhanen, Jari Jokelainen, Juha Veijola, Kristian Läksy, Marjo-Riitta Järvelin (2001). Psychometric properties of the Finnish 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 55(2), 123-127. http://doi.org/10.1080/08039480116694
Säkkinen, P. et al. (2007) Psychometric Properties of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and Prevalence of Alexithymia in a Finnish Adolescent Population. Psychosomatics, 48 (2), 154-161. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psy.48.2.154
TAS-20 - French
TAS-20 - FrenchWatters, C.A., Taylor, G.J., Ayearst, L., Bagby, R.M. (2019) Measurement invariance of English and French language versions of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 35, 29-36.
Loas, G., Fremaux, D., & Marchand, M. P. (1995). Etude de la structure factorielle et de la cohérence interne de la version française de l'échelle d'alexithymie de Toronto à 20 items (TAS-20) chez un groupe de 183 sujets sains [Factorial structure and internal consistency of the French version of the twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in a group of 183 healthy probands]. L'Encephale, 21(2), 117–122.
Loas G., Otmani O., Verrier A., Fremaux D. & Marchand M.P. (1995) Factor Analysis of the French Version of the 20-ltem Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Psychopathology, 29, 139–144. https://doi.org/10.1159/000284983
TAS-20 - German
TAS-20 - GermanGrabe, H.J., Löbel, S, Dittrich, D., Bagby, R.M., Taylor, G.J., Quilty, L.C., Spitzer, C., Barnow, S., Mathier, F., Jenewein, J., Freyberger, H.J., Ruffer, M. (2009). The German Version of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia: Factor Structure, Reliability, and Concurrent Validity in a Psychiatric Patient Sample. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 50, 424-430.
Bach, M., Bach, D., de Zwaan, M., & Serim, M. (1996). Validierung der deutschen Version der 20-Item Toronto-Alexithymie-Skala bei Normalpersonen und psychiatrischen Patienten [Validation of the German version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in normal adults and psychiatric inpatients]. PPmP: Psychotherapie Psychosomatik Medizinische Psychologie, 46(1), 23–28.
TAS-20 - Greek
TAS-20 - GreekIoannis Tsaousis, Graeme Taylor, Lena Quilty, Stelios Georgiades, Marios Stavrogiannopoulos, R. Michael Bagby (2010) Validation of a Greek adaptation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 51(4), 443-448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2009.09.005 Full text of the article is on psychology.soc.uoc.gr
TAS-20 - Hindi
TAS-20 - HindiPandey, R., Mandal, M.K., Taylor, G.J. & Parker, J.D.A. (1996). Cross-cultural alexithymia: Development and validation of a Hindi translation of the 20-item Toronto alexithymia scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 52, 173-176. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199603)52:2<173::AID-JCLP8>3.0.CO;2-V
TAS-20 - Hungarian
TAS-20 - HungarianCserjesi Renata , Luminet Olivier , Lenard Laszlo (2007) RELIABILITY AND FACTOR VALIDITY OF THE HUNGARIAN TRANSLATION OF THE TORONTO ALEXITHYMIA SCALE IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SAMPLES. Magyar Pszichologiai Szemle (Hungarian Psychological Review), 62,3, 355-368.
Cserjesi, Renata & Luminet, Olivier & Lénárd, László. (2007). A Torontói Alexitímia Skála (TAS-20) magyar változata: Megbízhatósága és faktorvaliditása egyetemista mintán [Hungarian version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20): Reliability and factor validity in a student sample]. Magyar Pszichológiai Szemle, 62. https://doi.org/10.1556/mpszle.62.2007.3.4
TAS-20 - Indonesian
TAS-20 - IndonesianGeni, P. (2020). Struktur Internal dan Validitas Konstruk dari Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) dengan Sampel Mahasiswa pada Universitas di Jakarta. JP3I (Jurnal Pengukuran Psikologi dan Pendidikan Indonesia), 9(1), 30-40. https://doi.org/10.15408/jp3i.v9i1.15450
TAS-20 - Italian
TAS-20 - ItalianBressi, C. et al. (1996) Cross validation of the factor structure of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: An Italian multicenter study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 41(6), 551-559. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(96)00228-0
TAS-20 - Japanese
TAS-20 - JapaneseKomaki, G., Maeda, M., Arimura, T., Nakata, A., Shinoda, H., OgataI Shimura, M., Kawamura, N., & Kubo, C. (2003) The reliability and factorial validity of the Japanese version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 55(2), 143. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3999(03)00360-X
Moriguchi, Y., Maeda, M., Igarashi, T. et al. (2007) Age and gender effect on alexithymia in large, Japanese community and clinical samples: a cross-validation study of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). BioPsychoSocial Med 1, 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0759-1-7
TAS-20 - Korean
TAS-20 - KoreanWoon-Sun Jeong, et al. (2003). Comparison of Reliability and Validity of Three Korean Versions of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Psycho-Physical Medicine, 11(1), 77 - 88.
TAS-20 - Latvian
TAS-20 - LatvianLaura Bubko, Annija Mežmača, Inese Jurķāne, Zane Lucāne, Artūrs Ancāns “TORONTO – ALEXITHYMIA SCALE 20” SCORES AMONG PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS COMPARED TO OTHER INPATIENTS. PROCEEDINGS OF THE 58th INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OF DAUGAVPILS UNIVERSITY.
TAS-20 - Lithuanian
TAS-20 - LithuanianBeresnevaitė, M., Taylor, G.J., Parker, J.D.A., & Andziulis, A. (1998). Cross validation of the factor structure of a Lithuanian translation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Acta Medica Lituanica, 5(2): 146-149.
TAS-20 - Macedonian
TAS-20 - MacedonianPop-Jordanova, N., Polenakovic, M., Pop-Jordanov, J., Shaltanovska, H., & Trajceska, L. (2013). Are Macedonian chronic patients alexithymic? Prilozi (Makedonska Akademija na Naukite i umetnostite. Oddelenie za Medicinski Nauki), 34(3), 31-38.
Pop-Jordanova N, Boskovska V. (1995). TAS-20 as a measure of alexithymia in Macedonian population. Neurologia Croatica, 44(1), 60.
TAS-20 - Norwegian
TAS-20 - NorwegianPedersen, G., Normann-Eide, E., Eikenaes, I. U., Kvarstein, E. H., & Wilberg, T. (2021 in press). Psychometric evaluation of the Norwegian Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in a multisite clinical sample of patients with personality disorders and personality problems. Journal of clinical psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23270
TAS-20 - Persian/Farsi
TAS-20 - Persian/FarsiBesharat, M. A. (2007). Reliability and Factorial Validity of a Farsi Version of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale with a Sample of Iranian Students. Psychological Reports, 101(1), 209–220. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.101.1.209-220
Besharat, M. (2008). Psychometric Characteristics of Persian Version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 in Clinical and Non-Clinical Samples. Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, 33(1), 1-6.
TAS-20 - Polish
TAS-20 - PolishŚcigała, D.K., Zdankiewicz-Ścigała, E., Bedyńska, S. & Kokoszka, A. (2020) Psychometric Properties and Configural Invariance of the Polish – Language Version of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in Non-clinical and Alcohol Addict Persons. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01241
Ścigała, Dawid & Zdankiewicz-Ścigała, Elżbieta & Bedyńska, Sylwia & Kokoszka, Andrzej. (2020). Toronto Alexithymia Scale TAS -20 PL. The Polish TAS-20 is available on researchgate.
TAS-20 - Portuguese
TAS-20 - PortugueseVerissimo R. (2001). Versão Portuguesa da Escala de Alexitimia de Toronto de 20-itens--I. Adaptação linguística, validação semântica, e estudo de fiabilidade [The Portuguese version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale -- I. Linguistic adaptation, semantic validation, and reliability study]. Acta medica portuguesa, 14(5-6), 529–536.
Stivaleti Colombarolli, M., Carolina Zuanazzi, A., Koich Miguel, F., & Giromini, L. (2019). Psychometric properties of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in Brazil. Transcultural Psychiatry, 56(5), 992–1010. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461519847312
TAS-20 - Romanian
TAS-20 - RomanianRaluca A. Morariu, Lindsay E. Ayearst, Graeme J. Taylor, R. Michael Bagby (2013). DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A ROMANIAN ADAPTATION OF THE 20-ITEM TORONTO ALEXITHYMIA SCALE (TAS-20-RO). Revista Romana de Psihiatrie, 4. Full text of the article is available on www.romjpsychiat.ro
TAS-20 - Russian
TAS-20 - RussianStarostina, E. G., Taylor, G. D., Quilty, L. K., Bobrov, A. E., Moshnyaga, E. N., Puzyreva, N. V., Bobrova, M. A., Ivashkina, M. G., Krivchikova, M. N., Shavrikova, E. P., & Bagby, M. (2010). Торонтская шкала алекситимии (20 пунктов): валидизация русскоязычной версии на выборке терапевтических больных [Toronto Alexithymia Scale (20 points): validation of the Russian-language version on a sample of therapeutic patients]. Social and Clinical Psychiatry, 20(4), 31–38.
TAS-20 - Serbian
TAS-20 - SerbianTrajanovic, N., Djurić, V., Latas, M., Milovanović, S., Jovanović, A., & Djurić, D. (2013). Serbian translation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: psychometric properties and the new methodological approach in translating scales. Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo, 141 5-6, 366-70. http://doi.org/10.2298/SARH1306366T
The Serbian translation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale is in Appendix I. The full text of the article is available on www.semanticscholar.org
TAS-20 - Slovak
TAS-20 - SlovakLÁTALOVÁ, V. & PILÁRIK, Ľ. (2015) OVERENIE RELIABILITY A FAKTOROVEJ VALIDITY SLOVENSKEJ VERZIE DOTAZNÍKA TORONTO ALEXITHYMIA SCALE-20 NA SÚBORE SLOVENSKÝCH ŠTUDENTIEK. Ceskoslovenska Psychologie, 59, 4,369-379.
TAS-20 - Somali
TAS-20 - SomaliReferences:
Kankaanpää, S. (2017). Mental Health Among Somali Origin Migrants in Finland. Dissertation: University of Tampere.
TAS-20 - Spanish
TAS-20 - SpanishGonzález-Arias, M., Martínez-Molina, A., Galdames , S., Urzúa, A. (2018) Psychometric Properties of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in the Chilean Population. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 963. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00963 The TAS-20 Spanish version is in Table 1.
Fernández-Jiménez, E., Pérez-San-Gregoria, A., Taylor, G.J., Bagby, R.M., Ayearst, L.E., Izquierdo, G. (2013). Psychometric properties of a revised Spanish 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale adaptation in multiple sclerosis patients. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 13, 226-234.
TAS-20 - Swedish
TAS-20 - SwedishSimonsson-Sarnecki, M., Lundh, L. G., Törestad, B., Bagby, R. M., Taylor, G. J., & Parker, J. D. (2000). A Swedish translation of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: cross-validation of the factor structure. Scandinavian journal of psychology, 41(1), 25–30. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9450.00167
TAS-20 - Turkish
TAS-20 - TurkishGüleç, Hüseyin & Kose, Samet & Yazici, Medine & Çıtak, Serhat & Evren, Cuneyt & Borckardt, Jeffrey & Sayar, Kemal. (2009). The Turkish Version of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20): Reliability, Validity, and Factorial Structure. Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 19, 214-220.
The Turkish Translation of the TAS-20 is in the Appendix. The full text of the article is available on halileksi.net
TAS-20 - Urdu
TAS-20 - UrduSaba Ghayas, Sadia Niazi, Maria Ghazal and Wajeeha Tahir (2017) Urdu Translation and Validation of Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 43(1), 114-12