Childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder: a review

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) holds a particular interest for child psychiatrists because of the high proportion of cases with onset in childhood and adolescence. Over the last two decades, substantial progress has been made in describing OCD in children and adolescents and in developing and implementing effective treatments. In addition, research on the phenomenology, neurobiology, and psychopharmacology of OCD has led to its current conceptualization as a developmental neuropsychiatric disorder. In this article, the fourth in a series on OCD, the authors summarize the most recent data on the phenomenology, etiology, neurobiology, and treatment of OCD in children and adolescents.