General Description
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC.
The main feature of OCD is a reoccurring obsession or compulsion that takes up more than an hour of the day and causes distress.
Diagnostic Criteria
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC.
OCD could be diagnosis if an individual has an obsession or a compulsion meeting the following symptoms:
- Obsession:
- Reoccurring or constant thoughts, impulses, or images, during an episode that cause anxiety or distress.
- Reoccurring or constant thoughts, impulses, or images that are not excessive worries about real life problems.
- The individual tries to neutralize these thoughts, impulses, or images by using some other thought or action.
- The individual realizes that these thoughts, impulses, or images are produced by his own mind and not place there by an outside force.
- Compulsion:
- The individual has repetitive behaviors that must be performed according to specific rules such as washing hands, counting, or repeating word silently.
- The behaviors are designed to stop a dreaded behavior or event, however they are not connected in any realistic way with preventing the dreaded behavior or they behavior is clearly excessive.
- Adults sometime realize during this disorder that there behavior is unreasonable, however this does not apply to children.
- Their obsession or compulsion is time consuming (more than an hour a day) or interferes with a person's normal way of life.
- If another Axis 1 disorder is present, the content of the obsession or compulsion is not restricted to it.
- The obsession or compulsion is not due to another substance or medical condition.
Etiology
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC.
The rate of OCD is higher among children with first-degree biological relatives with OCD and Tourette's Disorder. OCD is equally diagnosed among adult males and females however in children the disorder is more common in boys than in girls. The modal age of onset for males is between the ages or 6 and 15 and for girls onset occurs between the ages of 20-29 years.
Prevalence
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC.
OCD is a relatively common anxiety disorder that affects about 2% of the population. It often begins in childhood or teen years. Community studies of children and adolescents suggest that a lifetime prevalence of OCD is around 1 to 2.3% and a 1-year prevalence of .7%.
EBP Treatment Approaches
Listed below are either evidence-based practices or promising practices that have been successful at treating OCD.
Psychosocial Treatment
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Pharmacological Treatments
(Click on Medications)
References
March, J.; Leonard, H. L. (1996, Oct.) Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in children and adolescents: a review of the past 10 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 35(10):1265-1273.
Note - Full text is available through the University at Buffalo Libraries.
Collection of Evidence-Based Treatment Modalities for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Treatment Needs
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Links
APA Practice Guideline
Expert Consensus Guideline
Practice Guideline Clearing House
Practice Guideline Gateway
Diagnosis, Treatment, Research Gateway
Anxiety Disorders Association of America
National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
The Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation
Fact Sheets
Fact Sheets from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Note - Click on topic. (Please note disclaimer).
The AACAP developed Facts for Families to provide concise and up-to-date information on issues that affect children, teenagers, and their families.
The AACAP website includes facts, statistics, and overviews of different problems children and adolescents face and different mental health disorders that affect children and adolescents.
Fact Sheets from the National Institute of Mental Health
Note - Click on "select a topic".
NIMH offers a variety of publications and other educational resources to help people with mental health disorders, the general public, mental health and health care practitioners, and researchers gain a better understanding of mental illnesses and the research programs of the NIMH.
This website includes facts, statistics, pamphlets, checklists, and overviews of mental health disorders.
Fact Sheets from the National Mental Health Association
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The NMHA offers answers to frequently asked questions, facts, statistics and overviews about different mental health disorders, as well as information about treatments and other problems that affect children and adolescents.
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