The bermond-vorst Alexithymia questionnaire cutoff scores: A study in eating-disordered and control subjects

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). Sampling: 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. Conclusion: 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. Copyright (C) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.