Validation of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale with Substance Abusers

The purposes of this paper were to complete factor and item analyses of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) in a sample of mixed substance abusers and to examine the correlations between patients' TAS scores and other variables. Results indicate that the TAS is a reliable, valid measure of alexithymia for substance abusers. The factor structure we found is congruent with the theoretical construct and is similar to those published in the normative studies; coefficient alpha reliability was 0.68. Additionally, a high percentage of the subjects (50.4%) scored in the alexithymic range while 24% had scores in the nonalexithymic range. Patients' TAS scores were positively associated with Beck Depression Inventory scores, with a reported paternal history of alcoholism, and with attempted suicide; TAS scores were negatively associated with being Black.