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Assessing alexithymia in French-speaking samples: psychometric properties of the Observer Alexithymia Scale-French translation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Sylvie Berthoz ,
Mark G. Haviland ,
Matt L. Riggs ,
Fabienne Perdereau  and
Catherine Bungener
Sylvie Berthoz*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Institute Mutualiste Montsouris, 42, Bd Jourdan, 75674Paris cedex 14, France
Mark G. Haviland
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA, USA
Matt L. Riggs
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
Fabienne Perdereau
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Institute Mutualiste Montsouris, 42, Bd Jourdan, 75674Paris cedex 14, France
Catherine Bungener
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, René Descartes University, Paris, France
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +33 1 5661 6911; fax: +33 1 5661 6924. E-mail address:sylvie.berthoz@imm.fr (S. Berthoz).
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Abstract

In the present study, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the Observer Alexithymia Scale-French translation (OAS-F), a 33-item, observer-rated alexithymia measure. The scale, accessible to lay and professional raters, taps everyday expressions of alexithymia. French university students (N = 159) were asked to rate a person they knew well or ask an acquaintance to rate them. Those being rated (N = 159) were parents, siblings, children, and friends. OAS-F total and subscale scores were comparable to those in the English normative samples. Moreover, OAS scores were reliable, and the scale’s five-factor structure (distant, uninsightful, somatizing, humorless, and rigid) was confirmed. Importantly, too, OAS total scores correlated 0.31 with (self-report) 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) scores. The OAS-F appears to be a psychometrically sound observer-rated alexithymia measure.

Keywords

AlexithymiaObserver ratingsObserver Alexithymia Scale
Type
Scales and Measurement of Psychopathology
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 20 , Issue 7 , November 2005 , pp. 497 - 502
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier SAS 2005

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