The Psychometric Efficiency of the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children (AQC) and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in a Sample of Adolescents: A Psychometric-Comparative Study

Abstract

The current study aimed to examine the psychometric efficiency of The Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children (AQC), and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) on Kuwaiti adolescents, (AQC) was administered to (943) adolescents aged (12-14) years, while (TAS-20) was administered to 515 within the same age range. The results showed that both scales had acceptable levels of reliability, but there was a noticeable weakness in the reliability values for the external thinking dimension. Correlation coefficients between item scores, dimensions, and total scale scores were positive and statistically significant for the difficulty in identifying feelings and describing feelings dimensions, while some correlations in the external thinking dimension were either non-significant or weak. The relationship between the external thinking dimension and the other two dimensions was very weak and negative. Confirmatory factor analysis results showed that the factor loadings for the difficulty in describing feelings and identifying feelings dimensions were statistically significant, while the items for the external thinking dimension were not significant. There was a general convergence in the results of the indicators, some of which pointed to a good fit for both scales. The study concluded that both scales can be applied to adolescents, with a preference for using (TAS-20).