Toronto Alexithymia Scale

What it measures

The standard measure of alexithymia — difficulty identifying and describing feelings and an externally oriented cognitive style. Associated with somatic disorders, addiction, and emotional processing difficulties. Widely used in clinical neuropsychology.

Representative items

• I am often confused about what emotion I am feeling. (DIF)
• I find it hard to describe how I feel about people. (DDF)
• I prefer to analyse problems rather than just describe them. (R, EOT)
• I have feelings that I can't quite identify. (DIF)
• I prefer talking about daily activities rather than feelings. (EOT)

Citation

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(1), 23–32.