A Norwegian version of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised: psychometric properties

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a significant mental health condition requiring reliable assessment tools.
• The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R) is a widely used self-report measure for OCD symptoms.
• Validating international versions of psychological instruments is crucial for cross-cultural research and clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Norwegian translation of the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R).
• To assess the reliability and validity of the OCI-R in a Norwegian population, including both clinical and non-clinical samples.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study design was employed.
• Participants included a large student/community control sample (N=1167) and a clinical OCD sample (N=72).
• Psychometric analyses included examining the factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity with related measures.

Main Results:

• The Norwegian OCI-R demonstrated a good fit to the established six-factor structure.
• Internal consistency and score distributions were comparable to international findings.
• The OCD sample scored significantly higher on the OCI-R than the control sample.
• Subscales, barring hoarding, predicted OCD severity, aligning with DSM-IV OCD subtypes.
• The OCI-R showed significant correlations with measures of OCD symptoms, worry, anxiety, depression, and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale.

Conclusions:

• The Norwegian version of the OCI-R exhibits adequate psychometric properties.
• The OCI-R is a suitable and reliable instrument for measuring obsessive-compulsive symptoms in Norwegian clinical and research settings.
• Findings support the use of the OCI-R for assessing OCD severity and subtypes in Norway.