The Dysmorphic Concern Questionnaire: A screening measure for body dysmorphic disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of the Dysmorphic Concerns Questionnaire (DCQ) as a screening measure for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and to derive DCQ cutoff scores to facilitate the screening procedure.

METHOD: The DCQ was completed by 244 undergraduates (mean = 20.80, SD = 3.10 years) and 57 BDD outpatients (mean = 29.60, SD = 9.44 years) in Melbourne, Australia. The undergraduate sample was screened for eating disorders using the Eating Attitudes Test-26, and for BDD using the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Questionnaire.

RESULTS: The BDD outpatients obtained significantly higher scores on the DCQ than the undergraduates. This difference remained statistically significant after controlling for the severity of depression and social anxiety symptoms. A DCQ cutoff score of 9 resulted in the correct classification of 96.4% of BDD patients and 90.6% of undergraduates.

CONCLUSIONS: The results supported the use of the DCQ as a brief, sensitive, and specific screening instrument for BDD.