Clinical Characteristics of Pediatric Trichotillomania: Comparisons with Obsessive-Compulsive and Tic Disorders

This study compared youth ages 5-17 years with a primary diagnosis of trichotillomania (TTM, n = 30) to those with primary OCD (n = 30) and tic disorder (n = 29) on demographic characteristics, internalizing, and externalizing symptoms. Findings suggest that youth with primary TTM score more comparably to youth with tics than those with OCD on internalizing and externalizing symptom measures. Compared to the OCD group, youth in the TTM group reported lower levels of anxiety and depression. Parents of youth in the TTM group also reported fewer internalizing, externalizing, attention, and thought problems than those in the OCD group. Youth with TTM did not significantly differ from those with primary Tic disorders on any measure. Findings suggest that pediatric TTM may be more similar to pediatric tic disorders than pediatric OCD on anxiety, depression, and global internalizing and externalizing problems.