The reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS-J)
Author
Igarashi, TetsuyaKomaki, Gen
Lane, Richard
Moriguchi, Yoshiya
Nishimura, Hiroki
Arakawa, Hiromi
Gondo, Motoharu
Terasawa, Yuri
Sullivan, Corbet
Maeda, Motonari
Affiliation
Department of Psychosomatic Research, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, 4-1-1 Ogawa-higashi Kodaira-City, Tokyo, 187-8553, JapanDepartment of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, AZ 85724-5002, USA
Centre for Advanced Research on Logic and Sensibility, Keio University, 2-15-45 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8345, Japan
Language Education and Research Center, Kyushu Sangyo University, 2-3-1 Matsukadai, Higashi Ku, Fukuoka 813-8503, Japan
College of Art and Design, Joshibi University of Art and Design, 1900 Asamizodai, Sagamihara-City, Kanagawa 228-8538, Japan
Issue Date
2011
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BioMed CentralCitation
Igarashi et al. BioPsychoSocial Medicine 2011, 5:2 http://www.bpsmedicine.com/content/5/1/2Journal
BioPsychoSocial MedicineRights
© 2011 Igarashi et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0).Collection Information
This item is part of the UA Faculty Publications collection. For more information this item or other items in the UA Campus Repository, contact the University of Arizona Libraries at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
BACKGROUND:The Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) was developed to assess five levels of emotional awareness: bodily sensations, action tendencies, single emotions, blends of emotion, and combinations of blends. It is a paper and pencil performance questionnaire that presents 20 emotion-evoking scenes. We developed a Japanese version of the LEAS (LEAS-J), and its reliability and validity were examined.METHODS:The LEAS-J level was independently assessed by two researchers who scored each response according to the LEAS scoring manual. High inter-rater reliability and internal consistency were obtained for the LEAS-J. Measures were socioeconomic status, LEAS-J, Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). TAS-20, IRI and NEO-FFI were the measures used to explore the construct validity of LEAS-J, as it was predicted that higher scores on the LEAS-J would be related to fewer alexithymic features, greater empathetic ability, and a greater sense of cooperation with others. Questionnaires were completed by 344 university students.RESULTS:The criterion-referenced validity was determined: a significant negative relationship was found with the externally-oriented thinking scores of TAS-20, and positive relationships were found with fantasy, perspective taking, and empathic concern on IRI and with extraversion, openness to experience, and agreeableness on NEO-FFI.CONCLUSIONS:Consistent with our expectations, the findings provide evidence that the LEAS-J has good reliability and validity. In addition, women had significantly higher scores than men on LEAS-J, showing that the gender difference identified in the original LEAS was cross-culturally consistent.EISSN
1751-0759Version
Final published versionAdditional Links
http://www.bpsmedicine.com/content/5/1/2ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1186/1751-0759-5-2
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © 2011 Igarashi et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0).