Amaç: Bu araştırmada, çeşitli tıbbi ve psikiyatrik/psikolojik bozukluklarla güçlü ilişkiler gösteren aleksitiminin değerlendirilmesi amacıyla ‘aleksitiminin dikkat-değerlendirme modeline’ göre geliştirilen Perth Aleksitimi Ölçeğinin (PAÖ) Türk örnekleminde psikometrik özelliklerinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Katılımcılar doğrulayıcı faktör analizi ve iç tutarlılık analizi için 18-68 yaşları arasındaki (33.01±11.77) 162’si kadın (%54.5), 135’i erkek (%44.5) olmak üzere 297 ve diğer geçerlilik ve güvenilirlik analizlerinde ise 268 olmak üzere toplam 565 kişilik öğrenci ve toplum örnekleminden oluşturulmuştur. Bulgular: Ölçeğin faktör yapısına yönelik yapılan doğrulayıcı faktör analiz sonucunda özgün çalışmada önerilen ‘pozitif ve negatif duyguları tanıma zorluğu, pozitif ve negatif duyguları ifade etme zorluğu ile dışa vuruk düşünme’ boyutlarından oluşan beş faktörlü modelin uyum indeksleri kabul edilebilir düzeyde bulunmuştur. Test-tekrar test güvenilirliği, dilsel, ayırt edici, yordayıcı ve yakınsak geçerlilik bulguları güçlü psikometrik özellikler göstermiştir. Ölçeğin toplam puan Cronbach alfa iç tutarlılık katsayısı 0.96, alt ölçeklerin Cronbach alfa katsayıları 0.85-0.90 arasında bulunmuştur. Sonuç: PAÖ’nün Türk kültüründe kullanılmak için güçlü psikometrik özelliklere sahip olduğu ve PAÖ’nün aleksitiminin değerlendirilmesinde hem klinik ortamlarda, hem de araştırma çalışmalarında kullanılabilecek geçerli ve güvenilir bir ölçme aracı olduğu saptanmıştır. Araştırmanın sonuçları aleksitiminin değerlendirilmesinde duyguların pozitif ve negatif yönden ele alınması gerektiğine ilişkin ip uçları da sunmaktadır. (Anadolu Psikiyatri Derg 2020; 21(Ek sayı.2):71-79)
Objective: In this study, in order to assessment of alexithymia which showed strong relations with various medical and psychiatric/psychological disorders, was aimed determination in the Turkish sample of the psychometric properties of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) which was developed according to the ‘attention-appraisal model of alexithymia’. Methods: For confirmatory factor analysis and internal consistency analysis, the participants are a total of 297, including 162 females (54.5%), 135 males (44.5%), age range 18-68 (33.01±11.77). Later, in other validity and the reliability analysis, including 268 persons of them consists of a total of 565 person students and society samples. Results: As a result of the confirmatory factor analysis made for the factor structure of the scale, the fit indexes of the five-factor model consisting of the dimensions of ‘difficulty identifying negative and positive feelings, difficulty describing positive and negative feelings, and general-externally orientated thinking’ proposed in the original study were found to be at an acceptable level. Test-retest reliability, linguistic, discriminative, predictive, and convergent validity findings showed strong psychometric properties. While the total score of the scale Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficient is 0.96, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the subscales vary between 0.85 and 0.90. Conclusion: It has been determined that PAQ has strong psychometric properties for use in Turkish culture and the scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool that will be used both in clinical settings and in research studies in the evaluation of alexithymia. The results of the study also provide clues that emotions should be evaluated positively and negatively in the evaluation of alexithymia. (Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry 2020; 21(Suppl.2):71-79)
___
1. Neimiah JC, Sifneos PE. Affect and fantasy in patients with psychosomatic disorders. Hillow (Ed.), Modern Trends in Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol. 2, London: Butterworths, 1970, pp.26-34.
2. Sifneos PE. The prevalence of ‘alexithymic’ characteristics in psychosomatic patients. Psychother Psychosom 1973; 22:255-262.
3. Nemiah JC, Freyberger H, Sifneos PE. Alexithymia: A view of the psychosomatic process. OW Hill (Ed.), Modern Trends in Psychosomatic Research, Vol. 3, London: Buttersworth, 1976, pp.430-439.
4. Taylor GJ, Bagby RM. An overview of the alexithymia construct. R Bar-On, JDA Parker, (Eds.), Handbook of Emotional Intelligence: Theory, Development, Assessment, and Application at Home, School and in the Workplace. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000, pp.40-67.
5. Parker JD, Keefer KV, Taylor GJ, Bagby RM. Latent structure of the alexithymia construct: a taxometric investigation. Psychol Assess 2008; 20(4):385-396.
6. Carano A, De Berardis D, Gambi F, Paolo CD, Campanella D, Pelusi L, et al. Alexithymia and body image in adult outpatients with binge eating disorder. Int J Eat Disord 2006; 39(4):332-340.
7. Speranza M, Corcos M, Stéphan P, Loas G, Pérez-Diaz F, Lang F, et al. Alexithymia, depressive experiences, and dependency in addictive disorders. Substance Use & Misuse 2004; 39(4):551-79.
8. Honkalampi K, Hintikka J, Tanskanen A, Lehtonen J, Viinamaki H. Depression is strongly associated with alexithymia in the general population. J Psychosom Res 2000; 48:99-104.
9. Bankier B, Aigner M, Bach M. Alexithymia in DSMIV disorder: comparative evaluation of somatoform disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression. Psychosomatics 2001; 42:235-40.
10. Elmas HG, Cesur G, Oral ET. Alexithymia and pathological gambling: the mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation. Türk Psikiyatri Derg 2017; 28(1):17-24.
11. Honkalampi K, Koivumaa-Honkanen H, Lehto SM, Hintikka J, Haatainen K, Rissanen T, et al. Is alexithymia a risk factor for major depression, personality disorder, or alcohol use disorders? A prospective population-based study. J Psychosom Res 2010; 68:269-273.
12. Corcos M, Guilbaud O, Speranza M, Paterniti S, Loas G, Stephan P, et al. Alexithymia and depression in eating disorders. Psychiatry Res 2000; 93(3):263-266.
13. Taylor GJ, Ryan D, Bagby RM. Toward the development of a new self-report alexithymia scale. Psychother Psychosom 1985; 44:191-199.
14. Bagby RM, Parker JD, Taylor GJ. The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale--I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. J Psychosom Res 1994; 38(1):23-32.
15. Vorst HC, Bermond B. Validity and reliability of the Bermond–Vorst alexithymia questionnaire. Pers Indiv Differ 2001; 30(3):413-434.
16. Kooiman CG, Spinhoven P, Trijsburg RW. The assessment of alexithymia: a critical review of the literature and a psychometric study of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20. J Psychosom Res 2002; 53(6):1083-1090.
17. Müller J, Bühner M, Ellgring H. Is there a reliable factorial structure in the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale? A comparison of factor models in clinical and normal adult samples. J Psychosom Res 2003; 55(6):561-568.
18. Preece D, Becerra R, Allan A, Robinson K, Dandy J. Establishing the theoretical components of alexithymia via factor analysis: Introduction and validation of the attention-appraisal model of alexithymia. Pers Indiv Differ 2017; 119:341-352.
19. Gross JJ. Emotion regulation: current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry 2015; 26(1):1-26.
20. Preece D, Becerra R, Robinson K, Dandy J, Allan A. The psychometric assessment of alexithymia: Development and validation of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire. Pers Indiv Differ 2018; 132:32-44.
21. Feldman Barrett LF, Gross J, Christensen TC, Benvenuto M. Knowing what you're feeling and knowing what to do about it: Mapping the relation between emotion differentiation and emotion regulation. Cogn Emot 2001; 15:713-724.
22. Heydari S, Lajmiri S, Azadyekta M, Barzegar M, Arshadi M. Reliability and validity of Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) by using the classic theory and its relation with cognitive emotion regulation. Rooyesh-e-Ravanshenasi Journal (RRJ) 2020; 9(2):73-80.
23. Greene D, Hasking P, Boyes M, Preece D. Measurement invariance of two measures of alexithymia in students who do and who do not engage in non-suicidal self-injury and risky drinking. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 2020; 42:808-825.
24. Preece DA, Becerra R, Boyes ME, Northcott C, McGillivray L, Hasking PA. Do self-report measures of alexithymia measure alexithymia or general psychological distress? A factor analytic examination across five samples. Pers Indiv Differ 2020; 155:1-8.
25. Preece DA, Becerra R, Allan A, Robinson K, Chen W, Hasking P, et al. Assessing alexithymia: psychometric properties of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire and 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in United States adults. Pers Indiv Differ 2020; 166:110-138.
26. Güleç H, Yenel A. 20 maddelik Toronto aleksitimi ölçeği Türkçe uyarlamasının kesme noktalarına göre psikometrik özellikleri. Klinik Psikiyatri Derg 2010; 13:108-112.
27. Güleç H, Köse S, Güleç MY, Çitak S, Evren C, Borckardt J, et al. Reliability and factorial validity of the Turkish version of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Klinik Psikofarmakoloji Bülteni 2009; 19:214-220.
28. Derogatis LR, Melisaratos N. The Brief Symptom Inventory: an introductory report. Psychol Med 1983; 13(3):595-605.
29. Şahin NH, Batıgün AD. Kısa Semptom Envanteri: Türk gençleri için uyarlanması. Türk Psikoloji Derg 1994; 9(31):44-56.
30. Çokluk Ö, Şekercioğlu G, Büyüköztürk Ş. Çok Değişkenli İstatistik SPSS ve LISREL Uygulamaları. Ankara: Pegem Akademi Yayınları, 2010, s.283.
31. Seçer İ. Psikolojik Test Geliştirme ve Uyarlama Süreci. Ankara: Anı Yayıncılık, 2015:154.
32. Şimşek ÖF. Yapısal eşitlik modellemesine giriş. Temel İlkeler ve LISREL Uygulamaları. Ankara: Ekinoks, 2007, s.315-337.
33. De Gucht V, Fischler B, Heiser W. Neuroticism, alexithymia, negative affect, and positive affect as determinants of medically unexplained symptoms. Pers Indiv Differ 2004; 36:1655-1667.
34. Dunn BD, Dalgleish T, Lawrence AD, Cusack R, Ogilvie AD. Categorical and dimensional reports of experienced affect to emotion- inducing pictures in depression. J Abnorm Psychol 2004; 113(4):654-660.
35. Sloan DM, Strauss ME, Wisner KL. Diminished response to pleasant stimuli by depressed women. J Abnorm Psychol 2001; 110(3):488-493.
36. Kring AM, Bachorowski J. Emotions and psychopathology. Cogn Emot 1999; 13(5):575-599.
37. Taylor GJ, Bagby RM, Parker JDA. The twenty item Toronto Alexithymia Scale IV. Reliability and factorial validity in different languages and cultures. J Psychosom Res 2003; 55:277-283.
38. Meganck R, Vanheule S, Desmet M. Factorial validity and measurement invariance of the 20- item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in clinical and non-clinical samples. Assessment 2008; 15(1):36-47.
39. Ścigała DK, Zdankiewicz-Ścigała E, Bedyńska S, Kokoszka A. Psychometric properties and configural invariance of the Polish - Language Version of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in non-clinical and alcohol addict persons. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1241.