Alexithymia in anorexia nervosa: a controlled study using the 20‐item Toronto Alexithymia Scale

The 20‐item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was completed at the age of 22 years by individuals who had previously suffered from anorexia nervosa (AN), and also by members of a comparison group. The AN and comparison groups had been recruited from community samples. Overall, the TAS scores did not clearly discriminate between the two groups. However, the AN group was significantly more often represented among subjects with the highest TAS scores. A subgroup with empathy disorder tended to have particularly high scores. It is concluded that alexithymia, as defined using the TAS‐20, is found only in a subgroup of individuals with AN, and possibly more often in those who are also clinically diagnosed as suffering from empathy disorder. The TAS‐20 is not suitable for screening of AN in the general population.

[1]  C. Gillberg,et al.  Anorexia nervosa outcome: six-year controlled longitudinal study of 51 cases including a population cohort. , 1994, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[2]  M. Dewey.  Autism and Asperger syndrome: Living with Asperger's syndrome , 1991 .

[3]  S. Baron-Cohen,et al.  Does the autistic child have a “theory of mind” ? , 1985, Cognition.

[4]  C. Gillberg,et al.  The Emanuel Miller Memorial Lecture 1991. Autism and autistic-like conditions: subclasses among disorders of empathy. , 1992, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[5]  R. Bagby,et al.  The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale--I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. , 1994, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[6]  M. Råstam.  Anorexia nervosa in 51 Swedish adolescents: premorbid problems and comorbidity. , 1992, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[7]  Norman S. Endler,et al.  Factorial validity of the 20‐item Toronto Alexithymia Scale , 1993 .

[8]  C. Gillberg,et al.  Do some cases of anorexia nervosa reflect underlying autistic-like conditions? , 1992, Behavioural neurology.

[9]  M. First,et al.  The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID). I: History, rationale, and description. , 1992, Archives of general psychiatry.

[10]  H. Morgan,et al.  Clinical Assessment of Anorexia Nervosa , 1988, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[11]  R. Bagby,et al.  Alexithymia in Women with Anorexia Nervosa , 1992, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[12]  J. Treasure,et al.  A controlled study of alexithymia in eating disorders. , 1993, Comprehensive psychiatry.

[13]  C. Gillberg,et al.  Asperger syndrome--some epidemiological considerations: a research note. , 1989, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.