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

  • Sylvie Berthoz
  • , Mark G. Haviland
  • , Matt L. Riggs
  • , Fabienne Perdereau
  • , Catherine Bungener

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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. © 2005 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)497-502
Number of pages6
JournalEuropean Psychiatry
Volume20
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2005

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health

Keywords

  • Alexithymia
  • Observer Alexithymia Scale
  • Observer ratings

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