Enabling brief assessments of alexithymia: psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) and its correlates with ill-being and well-being
Abstract Alexithymia is a trait involving deficits in emotion processing. As an important risk factor for a wide range of psychopathologies, its assessment is important in both research and clinical practice. Originally developed in English, the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) is...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2024-02-01
|
| Series: | Discover Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-024-00119-4 |
| _version_ | 1797273574080249856 |
|---|---|
| author | Paweł Larionow David A. Preece Maria V. Iakovleva Ekaterina K. Scherba |
| author_facet | Paweł Larionow David A. Preece Maria V. Iakovleva Ekaterina K. Scherba |
| author_sort | Paweł Larionow |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Alexithymia is a trait involving deficits in emotion processing. As an important risk factor for a wide range of psychopathologies, its assessment is important in both research and clinical practice. Originally developed in English, the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) is a 6-item self-report measure of alexithymia, with its brevity designed to enable alexithymia assessments in a wide range of settings. In the present research, we aimed to introduce the first Russian version of the PAQ-S and examine its psychometric properties. Our sample consisted of 203 Russian-speaking adults aged 18–74 years, recruited from the general community in Russia. The PAQ-S’s factor structure was verified with confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent and divergent validity was assessed via relationships with psychopathology symptoms and well-being. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated. The Russian version of the PAQ-S demonstrated strong factorial validity, with support for the intended 1-factor structure as an overall marker of alexithymia. The PAQ-S total scale score showed good internal consistency reliability. As expected, its convergent and divergent validity was also supported. PAQ-S scores were significant predictors of higher ill-being (anxiety, depression, and stress) and lower well-being, thus demonstrating the high clinical relevance of the alexithymia construct as measured by the PAQ-S. There were no gender differences in PAQ-S scores, and alexithymia was higher in younger people and those with less education. Overall, the Russian PAQ-S therefore demonstrated strong psychometric properties as a brief and robust measure of overall alexithymia, performing similarly to other language versions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:46:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0fd9e0162b4a4dcdae1646c6a8dbbb0a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2731-4537 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:46:20Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-0fd9e0162b4a4dcdae1646c6a8dbbb0a2024-03-05T19:56:14ZengSpringerDiscover Psychology2731-45372024-02-01411910.1007/s44202-024-00119-4Enabling brief assessments of alexithymia: psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) and its correlates with ill-being and well-beingPaweł Larionow0David A. Preece1Maria V. Iakovleva2Ekaterina K. Scherba3Faculty of Psychology, Kazimierz Wielki UniversityFaculty of Health Sciences, School of Population Health, Curtin UniversityFaculty of Psychology, Saint Petersburg State UniversityFaculty of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of EconomicsAbstract Alexithymia is a trait involving deficits in emotion processing. As an important risk factor for a wide range of psychopathologies, its assessment is important in both research and clinical practice. Originally developed in English, the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) is a 6-item self-report measure of alexithymia, with its brevity designed to enable alexithymia assessments in a wide range of settings. In the present research, we aimed to introduce the first Russian version of the PAQ-S and examine its psychometric properties. Our sample consisted of 203 Russian-speaking adults aged 18–74 years, recruited from the general community in Russia. The PAQ-S’s factor structure was verified with confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent and divergent validity was assessed via relationships with psychopathology symptoms and well-being. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated. The Russian version of the PAQ-S demonstrated strong factorial validity, with support for the intended 1-factor structure as an overall marker of alexithymia. The PAQ-S total scale score showed good internal consistency reliability. As expected, its convergent and divergent validity was also supported. PAQ-S scores were significant predictors of higher ill-being (anxiety, depression, and stress) and lower well-being, thus demonstrating the high clinical relevance of the alexithymia construct as measured by the PAQ-S. There were no gender differences in PAQ-S scores, and alexithymia was higher in younger people and those with less education. Overall, the Russian PAQ-S therefore demonstrated strong psychometric properties as a brief and robust measure of overall alexithymia, performing similarly to other language versions.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-024-00119-4AlexithymiaAnxietyAssessmentDepressionPerth Alexithymia QuestionnairePsychopathology |
| spellingShingle | Paweł Larionow David A. Preece Maria V. Iakovleva Ekaterina K. Scherba Enabling brief assessments of alexithymia: psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) and its correlates with ill-being and well-being Discover Psychology Alexithymia Anxiety Assessment Depression Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire Psychopathology |
| title | Enabling brief assessments of alexithymia: psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) and its correlates with ill-being and well-being |
| title_full | Enabling brief assessments of alexithymia: psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) and its correlates with ill-being and well-being |
| title_fullStr | Enabling brief assessments of alexithymia: psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) and its correlates with ill-being and well-being |
| title_full_unstemmed | Enabling brief assessments of alexithymia: psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) and its correlates with ill-being and well-being |
| title_short | Enabling brief assessments of alexithymia: psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) and its correlates with ill-being and well-being |
| title_sort | enabling brief assessments of alexithymia psychometric properties of the russian version of the perth alexithymia questionnaire short form paq s and its correlates with ill being and well being |
| topic | Alexithymia Anxiety Assessment Depression Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire Psychopathology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-024-00119-4 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pawełlarionow enablingbriefassessmentsofalexithymiapsychometricpropertiesoftherussianversionoftheperthalexithymiaquestionnaireshortformpaqsanditscorrelateswithillbeingandwellbeing AT davidapreece enablingbriefassessmentsofalexithymiapsychometricpropertiesoftherussianversionoftheperthalexithymiaquestionnaireshortformpaqsanditscorrelateswithillbeingandwellbeing AT mariaviakovleva enablingbriefassessmentsofalexithymiapsychometricpropertiesoftherussianversionoftheperthalexithymiaquestionnaireshortformpaqsanditscorrelateswithillbeingandwellbeing AT ekaterinakscherba enablingbriefassessmentsofalexithymiapsychometricpropertiesoftherussianversionoftheperthalexithymiaquestionnaireshortformpaqsanditscorrelateswithillbeingandwellbeing |