[Factor structure and reliability of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in the German population].

The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) is the most widely used instrument in alexithymia measurement. In the present study the original factor structure of the Canadian population is compared with two other factor structures extracted from a representative German population (n = 1859) with maximum likelihood confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A three-factor-model with the factors "difficulties in identifying and describing feelings", "external oriented thinking" and "importance of emotional introspection" described the data best and most reliable, anyway none of the models met all criteria of CFA. This model is different from the Canadian original model, but describes alexithymia just as well.