Comprehensive psychiatry
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Comprehensive psychiatry · Sep 2009
ReviewDevelopment of criteria for a diagnosis: lessons from the night eating syndrome.
Criteria for inclusion of diagnoses of Axis I disorders in the forthcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V) of the American Psychiatric Association are being considered. The 5 criteria that were proposed by Blashfield et al as necessary for inclusion in DSM-IV are reviewed and are met by the night eating syndrome (NES). Seventy-seven publications in refereed journals in the last decade indicate growing recognition of NES. ⋯ Night eating syndrome can be distinguished from binge eating disorder and sleep-related eating disorder. Four additional features attest to the usefulness of the diagnosis of NES: (1) its prevalence, (2) its association with obesity, (3) its extensive comorbidity, and (4) its biological aspects. In conclusion, research on NES supports the validity of the diagnosis and its inclusion in DSM-V.
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Comprehensive psychiatry · Sep 2009
The German version of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia: factor structure, reliability, and concurrent validity in a psychiatric patient sample.
Recently, the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA) was developed to supplement the self-assessment of alexithymia and/or offer a different method of measuring the alexithymia construct. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a German language translation of the TSIA in a psychiatric patient sample. ⋯ The TSIA is a valid and reliable measure for assessing alexithymia, at least in clinical samples. The TSIA, together with a self-report alexithymia scale, allow for a multimethod approach to assessing alexithymia.