Article
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Adolescence: An Epidemiological Study

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Abstract

In the second part of a two-stage epidemiologic study of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in nonreferred adolescents, clinicians interviewed high school students selected from screening measures administered in the first stage. Of the 356 students interviewed, 93 scored above clinically derived thresholds on the 20-item Leyton Obsessional Inventory-Child Version, 188 scored below the clinical threshold but positively on at least one other screen for psychopathology, and 75 scored negatively on all screens. The Leyton inventory had a sensitivity of 75%, a specificity of 84%, and a predictive value of 18% as a screen for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The OCD cases identified had characteristics similar to those of clinical cases, except for the nonpredominance of males. There was a high frequency of associated disorders, but only four of the 18 cases had been under professional care. OCD is much more common during adolescence than has been previously thought; it is both underdiagnosed and undertreated.

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  • Cited by (0)

    This research was supported BRSG (NYS Psychiatric Institute) and NIMH Grant # 1-RO3-MH40527-01 (Eating Disorders in Adolescents: An Epidemiological Study) awarded to Dr. Whitaker, and NIMH Grant # ST32 MH16434 (Research Training in Child Psychiatry) and NIMH Clinical Research Center Grant # 30906-07 .

    We gratefully acknowledge the students, school teachers, and administrators who made this study possible. The authors would like to thank John Bartko, Ph.D., for his statistical advice and Eleanor Brown and Susan Braiman, C.S.W. for their assistance.

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