The relationship of self-reported subclinical obsessive-compulsive symptoms and impulsivity among adults with AD/HD

This study examined the degree to which subclinical obsessive-compulsive symptoms (SOCS) among individuals with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) were associated with response inhibition difficulties on a performance-based test. Participants consisted of 64 adults with AD/HD who completed the Conner׳s Continuous Performance Test, Second Edition (CPT-II), Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), and the Brown Attention Deficit Disorder Scale (ADD Scale). Individuals with higher scores on the Obsessive-Compulsive Scale from the SCL-90-R made significantly more commission errors on the CPT-II; whereas other SCL-90-R scores did not demonstrate such a relationship. We did not find that SOCS were related to severity of AD/HD. These results supported the hypothesis that individuals with AD/HD with response inhibition difficulties tend to report more subclinical obsessive symptoms.