The Assessment of Alexithymia Across Positive and Negative Emotions: The Psychometric Properties of the Iranian Version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire

Abstract

Background: Construct of Alexithymia is important for understanding psychopathology that its assessment is of high interest as persons with difficulty in processing their emotions (either positive and negative) are more vulnerable to psychopathology problems. Objectives: The current study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Perth Alexithymia questionnaire (PAQ), and to describe appropriate measures for the field of clinical psychology and psychiatry. Methods: The Persian version of the PAQ was produced through forward translation, reconciliation, and back translation. The study population was all staff (soldiers) of the army force in Tehran, Iran, in 2018 - 2019. Two hundred and fifty four soldiers were selected by convenience sampling method. The following questionnaires were used to collect data: the PAQ, The Deliberate Self-Harm inventory (DSHI), Borderline Personality scale (STB), Cognitive Flexibility inventory (CFI), and Self-Compassion scale (SCS) short-form. The construct validity of the PAQ was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis, divergent, and convergent validity. Internal Consistency and test-retest reliability (2 weeks’ interval) were applied to evaluate reliability. Data were analyzed using LISREL (version 8.8) and SSPS (version 22). Results: PAQ and its subscales were found as valid and reliable measures, with good internal consistency and good test-retest reliability. The PAQ showed good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.91). Concerning the convergent validity, PAQ and its subscales showed a significant positive correlation with self-report measures of DSHI and STB (P < 0.05). However, they were negatively correlated with Self-Compassion scale (SCS) short-form and CFI (P < 0.05), which demonstrated a good divergent validity. Moreover, while the results of this study support the five-factor models of the PAQ (RMSEA = 0.08, NFI = 0.94, CFI= 0.95), the two-factor model does not fit the data. Conclusions: The PAQ showed good validity and reliability and can be useful for evaluating Alexithymia in the army force samples. The PAQ can be considered promising as a measure in Alexithymia-related research and clinical settings.

Further Support for the Psychometric Properties of the Farsi Version of Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire

“…All subscales, especially the total alexithymia, indicated good test-retest reliability, which means that the scale results are consistent at different time points. The test-retest reliability results in the present study are comparable with those reported by Mousavi Asl et al (2020).…”

“…As we know, EOT component of the Farsi version of TAS-20 has lower internal consistency (Besharat, 2008). Besides, other studies aimed at validating PAQ in Iran failed to recruit a big enough sample or to report confirmatory analysis (Heydari et al, 2020;Mousavi Asl et al, 2020). Accordingly, the current study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of PAQ in Iran with specific reference to its internal consistency, testretest reliability, concurrent and discriminant validity, and factor structure.…”

Assessing alexithymia across negative and positive emotions: Psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire

“…As such, future work will be needed to test the generalisability of our findings. That said, our study lends further support to the cross-cultural validity of the PAQ, largely mirroring the results of past studies conducted in other languages ( 14 – 16 , 18 ). This reflects the strengths of the Polish version of the PAQ and presents a good support for conducting the studies on clinical and adolescent samples.…”

“…Originally developed in English, several language translations of the PAQ have now been published, including Turkish ( 15 ), Iranian ( 16 , 17 ), and Spanish ( 18 ) versions. Factor analyses across language versions have consistently supported a 5-factor structure, conforming to the intended five factors ( 13 , 19 , 20 ).…”

Factors that affect levels of alexithymia, empathy and communication skills of nursing students in northern Iran

“…While alexithymia is the inability to empathize and relate to others, “emotion without speech” or “lack of words for emotions” indicates difficulty in expressing verbal emotions (Asl et al, 2020 ), and both are serious issues in the nursing profession. With the shift of medical education from purely theoretical teachings to human communication (Kurtz et al, 2017 ), alexithymia has become one of the variables used in assessing the competence and ability of nursing students (Expósito et al, 2018 ).…”