title: The Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire cutoff scores: a study in eating-disordered and control subjects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The evaluation of alexithymic deficits has become increasingly desirable in health and psychopathology research. The purpose of this study was to calculate alexithymia cutoff scores for a recently developed self-report alexithymia questionnaire: the Bermond-Vorst Alexithymia Questionnaire Form B (BVAQ-B).
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred subjects (47 eating-disordered patients and 253 healthy individuals) completed the BVAQ-B and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20).
  
  
  METHODS
  The TAS-20 was used as a gold standard for this research, with its previously established cutoff scores serving as diagnostic criteria for determining the presence or absence of alexithymia. The BVAQ-B cutoff score selection was based on the examination of psychometric data (i.e., the sensitivity and specificity of the BVAQ-B scores and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses) and of clinical data (i.e., BVAQ-B mean score of the control subjects, who were mostly nonalexithymic, and BVAQ-B mean score of a group of patients with eating disorders, the majority of whom were alexithymic).
  
  
  RESULTS
  This research found that the most appropriate BVAQ-B cutoff scores for determining the absence and presence of alexithymia were 43 and 53, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In light of these findings, we believe that the BVAQ-B may also lend itself to a categorical evaluation of alexithymia, with these cutoff scores determining its absence or presence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry for Adolescents and Young Adults, Institut Mutualiste Montsouris, Paris 5 University, Paris, France. asdeborde@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: A-S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Deborde
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berthoz
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wallier
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fermanian
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Falissard
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jeammet
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corcos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires