Need to screen for clinical levels of OCD? Four questions are the key

The aim of this study was to investigate a new measure, the Wetterneck-Hart OCD Screener (WHOS), as a self-report screening tool for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The authors examined relationships between the WHOS and severity scores of OCD measures taken via three methods of data collection: online, at OCD consumer conferences, and from an intensive, residential OCD program. Severity measures included the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale-Self Report (Y-BOCS-SR), the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS), and the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R). A total of 525 participants took the measures: 298 from online websites, 100 from OCD conferences, and 127 from a residential OCD program. Significant differences were found between the OCD and non-OCD groups classified by the WHOS for each of the OCD severity measures. The authors conclude that the WHOS is useful in predicting the presence of clinically severe OCD symptoms and could be employed in clinical and research endeavors.