The Polish version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S): psychometric properties and norms

Abstract

Alexithymia is a trait involving difficulties identifying feelings, difficulties describing feelings, and an externally orientated thinking style. It is an important risk factor for a range of psychopathologies, and its assessment is therefore important in research and clinical settings. Originally created in English, the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S) is a brief 6-item self-report measure of alexithymia. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the first Polish version of the PAQ-S and to provide norms to help facilitate the interpretation of PAQ-S scores. Our sample was 1115 Polish-speaking adults (661 females, 438 males, and 16 non-binary gender) aged 18–72 from the general community in Poland. The PAQ-S’s factor structure and measurement invariance was explored with confirmatory factor analysis, and the convergent and divergent validity of the questionnaire was assessed via relationships with psychopathology symptoms and well-being. As expected, the Polish PAQ-S demonstrated strong factorial validity, and was invariant across age and gender. Convergent and divergent validity was also empirically supported, and internal consistency reliability was good. Overall, the Polish PAQ-S therefore appears to have strong psychometric properties much like the original English form, with its brief format being promising for allowing robust alexithymia assessments in a range of settings. Percentile rank norms and high alexithymia cut-off scores for Polish adults are presented.