Construction and validation of the Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ): a self-report measure to determine attitudes to and experiences of positive touch

Despite growing interest in the beneficial effects of positive touch experiences throughout our lives, and individual differences in how these experiences are perceived, a contemporary self-report measure of touch experiences and attitudes for which the factor structure has been validated, is as yet not available. This article describes four studies carried out during the construction and validation of the Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ). The original TEAQ, containing 117 items relating to positive touch experiences was systematically constructed. Principal component analysis reduced this measure to 57 items and identified six components relating to touch experiences during childhood (ChT) and adult experiences relating to current intimate touch (CIT) and touch with friends and family (FFT). Three attitudinal components were identified, relating to attitude to intimate touch (AIT), touch with unfamiliar people (AUT) and self-care (ASC). The structure of this questionnaire was confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis carried out on data obtained from a second sample. Good concurrent and predictive validity of the TEAQ compared to other physical touch measures currently available was identified. Known-group validity in terms of gender, marital status and age was determined, with expected group differences identified. This study demonstrates the TEAQ to have good face validity, internal consistency, construct validity in terms of discriminant validity, known-group validity and convergent validity, and criterion-related validity in terms of predictive validity and concurrent validity. We anticipate this questionnaire will be a valuable tool for the field of physical touch research