Assessing Reliability and Validity of Farsi Version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 in a Sample of Opioid Substance Use Disordered Patients

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Farsi version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 in a sample of opioid substance use disordered patients.Methods: 321 substance dependent patients (287 male, 34 female) participated in this study. All of the participants were asked to complete the Farsi version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (FTAS-20), the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS-41), and The Mental Health Inventory (MHI). In order to examine the internal consistency of the FTAS-20, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were calculated for the entire sample. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was used to estimate the test-retest reliability of the alexithymia dimensions. To examine the concurrent validity of the FTAS-20, a series of zero-order correlations were conducted between the FTAS-20 subscales, emotional intelligence and mental health variables. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was utilized to test the three-factor structure of the FTAS-20. Results: The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, and the three-factor structure of the Farsi version of the TAS-20 for substance users were supported by findings. Conclusions: The factors found in the Farsi version of the TAS-20, are similar to the three factors found in a study conducted by Bagby, Parker and Taylor; the factors were accordingly labeled as Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF), Difficulty Describing Feelings (DDF) and Externally-Oriented Thinking (EOT). The results provide evidence for applicability of the TAS-20 and its cross-cultural validity.